Ritual for Leaving

We have our rituals, our ceremonies:
what color of rice to make into sweet

cakes for arrivals and departures, 
weddings or funerals. Why we place 

money bills in a pocket, or break the rosary 
cord before wrapping it around the hands 

of the dead.  We say, go now; go sweet 
into the fields without borders, closing the old 

wounds as you go. Go without rancor, softening 
at last under the moon's copper sheen. Your face 

will remain as a lamp to all who are left in your wake; 
the flood of ache release from the dams in your feet.