To mark the occasion of my daughter's first week of college at VCU, I have written her a poem. Please read and comment.

Empty Room

Your room lies empty—once again

And like before, the house is quieter

Your music no longer wafting

Floor to floor, the bathroom counter no longer

Commandeered completely in your morning routine.

            These little things remain unchanged.

 So much is different—this time.

           Your bedroom walls no longer scream
           Hurt-filled words when I enter, words I needed to hear

And left untouched, uncovered hoping you would find

What you needed in the wilderness and return

To paint a sunrise over it. 

The walls sing to me now, of new beginnings

And patience and love. And though I know

Full well the bittersweet truth—your rising sun

Heralds the twilight of your time here with me,

I am comforted. The ties that bind us cannot be broken

Though a thousand suns burn and die.

 

                                           -Helene Brown, August 25, 2013