Departure

Loco by LPSDC _{(Credit: DeviantArt)}

Originally written October 21st, 2020. Inspired by “Point of Departure” by Charles Cornell.

Delicate dancer practicing,
Her rehearsal space an unused dining room,
Creaking old floors who haven’t held a table in ages,
She spins and dips, tracing her movements
Through flecks of dust scattered in the fading gold
Of dying daylight sun.
She matches pace with the echoes of the piano,
Somewhat out of tune in the parlor,
With a ghost on the bench, reading the music.
The fading memory of someone who once cared,
Accompanying a dancer who cannot answer
Why she still tries to dance,
Playing to an audience of shadows
In a house with barely a heartbeat,
Anchored by the memories of a life that used to be here,
Held back by what she is too afraid to leave.

Within hours she stands on a train platform,
Farewells echoing around her,
A chorus heard from outside the concert hall.
The whistle of the train pierces the peace in her head,
A spear through a stained glass window.
She clutches a burdensome valise,
Scratched and scarred by travels before her time.
Chipping yellow paint on the station
Illuminated by weak orange lights,
She holds her ticket close to her heart,
The promise of freedom,
Worth what little she could bear to give up.
The conductor calls to board,
A stern, authoritative voice,
A call to leave the ghosts behind,
The promise of being in the world once more.

Moonlit hills slip by without fanfare,
Trees losing their covers still cast shadows,
Warping the world next to the train.
Within the darkness, things lose definition.
Unable to sleep, she stares at the passing scenery,
Imagining where she might dance when she arrives,
Too eager for departure to see what her destination is.