The Freedom Seeker

 I pause on my way out the door
good bye
i whisper to the snoozing embers in the hearth 
good bye 
i say to the dust creatures in the corners 
goodbye i think
to the sleeping person in the room over
and with that
i step out 
into the early morning fog
my feet cary my further
and further
away from the place i call home
until out of the valley
and onto the mountain 
look how far you've come
gush the streams beside me
while the birds chirp their encouragement 
and the crickets rub their legs together in joy
to no road am i tethered 
to no path am i bound
no thoughts of my predecessors 
will determine my now
i am free of that life
that once let me down
but. . . looking back 
i see the smoke spiraling upwards
calling beckoning 
for me to come home
and why shouldn't i
i can always leave tomorrow.