When I was younger  

Just a young girl 

They always told me  

About a place   

At the end of the earth 

Where the wind howls  

Birds chirp 

Water flows  

The frogs relax 

And the sun beams upon your entrance 

The place is far 

Away from it all  

Where the butterflies are as big as eagles  

And the snails are a grain of sand  

Where mushrooms are as big as houses  

And the caterpillars are rode like horses 

In the poppy fields by the sea  

As long as you follow the path 

The one that heads north  

Away from it all

Then goes through the towering mountains 

And follows the river with the sparkling fish  

It will come to you 

I traveled the way once 

With Evie 

Because it was her time 

The doctors did what they could 

With their syringes and needles 

Their potions and magic 

And I will visit their once again  

The place of no return  

But I’m old and tired 

My bones are creaky  

My hair has turned white  

But my motivation is strong 

Because to not would be wrong,  

 I will take a journey and follow the path  

So I left the house one last time 

I watered the plants  

Folded the clothes  

Swept the floor  

Dusted her picture 

Said goodbye to the dog, Sally  

I gave her to my neighbor, James as he asked, “Are you sure?” 

I shook my head “Take good care of her” 

Sally looked up at me  

So patted her head  

As I  did when she was younger 

One last time 

“Good girl, be good while I’m gone”  

 Then I turned away and headed north 

In the village where familiar faces  

All remembering who I was before Evie left  

And the one after 

The spiteful old woman I became 

Croaking out insults 

At those in my way 

Shaking the shoulders of the world for answersqn  

“She’s gone mad” they’d say  

“She’s not who she used to be”  

“Poor old lady. She used to be so kind. How sad.”  

The journey was long  

The mountains were steep  

 Bricks in the path where deteriorating  

And my knees creaked with each step I continued on the journey  

As I continued on the road ahead  

I remembered how Evie struggled on the steps  

How much pain she was in  

But with her joints aching 

And her back knees swelling  

Her mind blurry  

She still managed to say “Race you to the top”, with a warm smile 

No one raced that day  

As our hands cradled each other  

She kept positive even in the most trying of times 

A candle in the dark  

A smile at a funeral  

The brightest star on the foggiest of nights 

The crows circled above reminding me of what awaits 

Their croaks were a sour sound  

“Not yet birdies” I mumbled to myself 

Waving my boney finger at them  

As the journey continued 

I thought of the house 

How they will find it when they come for my things  

Organized and dusted  

Spik and span  

All was carefully planned 

After a long while of hiking 

It took a day with some breaks last time  

But with the sky turning purple  

And the stars adding sparkle to the sky 

I laid in the grass  

As I would soon again  

And wait for tomorrow  

The bright morning sun woke me 

As I lazily got up  

Splashed my face with the from the bag  

And  I continued 

I will see her soon, I thought  

I’m ready now  

It’s been long enough  

11 years is long enough  

Eventually the river was in sight  

I knew I was close to 

The sparkling fish welcomed me as I walked along side them 

The water swished around my feet as I stuck them in 

The creatures nipping at my feet 

Our last conversation  

Before her departure  

When her smile wasn’t just a fuzzy memory  

She said “Don’t worry it’s not goodbye, it’s just see you later” 

She stumbled into the forest clearing  

And lied  down  

And that’s when the tree roots guided her into the earth 

Where she went into the ground  

Now it was my turn  

It is later 

She won’t be alone  

In the great beyond  

As I lied down  

In the poppy field 

In the soft tall grass 

Near where Evie once was  

The flowers welcomed me 

I thanked the stars  

For what was a beautiful life  

Even if the last few years weren’t  

And where lonely  

But that will change 

And steadied my breathing  

Then I closed my eyes 

The tree roots came up  

Poked holes in the surface  

Wrapped around me  

As the moss grew  

And the leaves sprouted over me  

I drifted off into an everlasting sleep 

And I became one with the earth