Grateful Sorrow Poem by Margaret Alice Second

The idea's wonderful - theory impeccable:
my daughter has a job on a cruise ship to
earn enough to buy a car & an apartment -
but in real life the situation means saying
goodbye for a six-month period, she flies
to the other side of the earth: to Mexico

She tested the alarm she'll wear in self-
defence, readied back-pack and papers,
a book to read & US dollars - I'm ready
as mezzo-soprano Valkyrie, breast-plate
heaving as I sing Jo-ho-ho-HOO, Jo-ho-
ho-HOO, she continues in Japanese

Tomorrow my darling will fly away to far-
off shores to work her way towards her
independence; protected by legions of
angels - we send a little firefly to light a
small part of the world - and delight the
hearts she'll touch and I'm saying my

Goodbye tonight, tomorrow she's leaving
and this wonderful future of hers is the
source of grateful sorrow…