What Comes Before…

Time after time
she stands at the gate
waving goodbye
as they leave,
car after car turning the corner
until they are gone.
Slowly she walks
back into her house,
her foot steps echoing
through the empty rooms,
a tear cold on her cheek.

As she thinks
about her family’s visit,
a smile
slowly lights up her face,
and she knows
knows
at that moment
that before a leave-taking
there is always an arrival,
a joyful greeting,
a time filled with love
and laughter.

As evening falls
she sits quietly
savoring these memories
of coming together
of being together,
while waiting
for the next knock on the door.