Exile's Lament

Beneath the golden balm
Settling on the trees
Evening steals in calm
And farmers count their yields
The bee is in the lavender
The honey fills the comb
But here the rain falls never-ending
And I am far from home
                       --Jacqueline Carey

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The expectations grow heavy on my shoulders
Grip the rake, keep moving
Don't let them suspect you grow colder
Ideas, flying and passing
An endless river of thought
The eddies that hold the flotsam in place
Get stepped on with boots I bought
Why am I the one destined for greatness?
Why am I the one that will redeem her choice?
Can I not have a simple life of quiet joy?
And how, in all of this can I refuse her?
She gave everything for us
Her meals, her roof, her love
She gave her happiness
And shes giving her life.
I don't want it, I said, and ran.
And still she gives, half a world away.
I don't want it, I just don't want to owe it to you!
Escape isn't in continents. It is in the heart,
And mine is weighed down by duty.

The bee is in the lavender
The honey fills the comb
But here the rain falls never-ending
And I am far from home.