Fairyland: First Day Off

What a change! So strange!
But twas a beautiful day, sunny and hot
And towards late afternoon,
I had a peak out

On the balcony,
All was quiet
And so, I decided
To drink my tea out there

But first I had to
Cover the plastic chair
With clean cloth,
As it was dirty on top from lack of use

And then,
I pulled out
The tiny round table,
Painted an ugly shade of pink,

No wonder it was thrown out
By somebody or other,
Because aside from that
It was badly stained,

But to me it mattered not,
As after washing it off
It was perfect for the spot
Right next to my similarly found chair;

And so, after steeping the tea
In a big green mug,
I placed it on the table,
Sat happily sipping it up and appreciating the view.

It then occurred to me I could even read;
I grabbed an old novel, The Mists of Avalon, would you believe?
And read and read, already well absorbed on the tranquil eve
Of my first real day off, in many a long year!

Fade: Leave Taking

My last night on
Was quite a mess,
So much went amiss
And the cause?
Twas one of the usual suspects, of course!

But I won’t go there,
Not wanting to
Single anyone out,
Even one who deserves it,

As I’m gone anyway,
All is left behind,
Renounced and abandoned
For all time;

But as a consequence
Of this rude behaviour,
I could not say a proper goodbye
To the last caller!

Nevertheless, at the end of the shift,
I took the opportunity
To give a proper farewell to the premises,
Which shall be greatly missed.

After everyone else had left,
I pondered the many memories
Of this venerable old building
That is amazingly still standing!

So much has echoed
Through, inside and outside
These aging walls,
What secrets they could tell!

I sat long and wandered, lingering,
Remembering much, longing for some of it
And glad some else had passed,
Saying final farewells and taking my last leave at last.