ritual for letting go

I let go of you today

our memories in the form of seeds

I gave them to the birds at the lake

to nourish them

like they once nourished me.

I tossed handfuls to the magpies

who perched in the trees

waiting for me to walk away

- and I did.

I gave some to the swan

like the one that we fed

back in Iceland.

The gulls came and called

for the others.

Ducks swam over and

quacked happily.

A hooded crow joined and

stared at me. I had

no more food left

to give, but

he found some I had tossed on the ground.

They´re still eating, those birds.

Picking up the remnants of what I held onto.

They will carry our memories

far away from here,

and I will sit near the

still water.