Pondering My Mind

Two weeks ago today; my last day,
          After twenty-five years I walked away.
Cleared out my locker, said my good-bye's,
          Walked out the door into the night.

The burden I carried, I left there inside,
          Next to the door as I stepped outside.
That onus (burden) I carried, year after year,
          Was heavy at times with anguish and fear.

I shouldered it well most of the time,
          Occasionally stumbled, stepped out of line.
But, time has a way of healing the wounds,
          The hurt and the injury, the scar and the bruise.

Nothing was perfect I have to admit,
          Despite the illusions, I never gave in.
I bowed to the task, the ending grew near,
          Day after day, year after year.

Despite what it wasn't, it was what it was,
          It grew into something I treasured and loved.
It taught me the goodness of sweet simple souls
          Who worked in the night, while the rest slept at home.

After only two weeks, I hardly believe,
          How different it looks, how different I see.
When I was immersed, bustling about
          I sometimes saw clearly, truth sometimes came out.

Now I sit here and wonder, I ponder my mind.
          Why is "what is real" so hard to define?
In fogs of confusion that muddy the scene
          Truth is distorted and hard to be seen.

                                   Copyright 2013 by Layne S. Porter