Summer's End

Another year
Swiftly slips past:
Departure and evolution
And adaptation.

Another year:
Sadly sighing
For lost youth,
For friendship and love—
And home.

The melancholy joy
Of leaving,
Of age,
Weighs upon me.

Another year
Lengthens its shadow:
Too soon it comes,
Too long it stays.

Another year—
What will it bring?
Dare I ask?