Summary:  A Bonanza poem, the title explains it all.

Rating:  G   (240 words)

Thoughts on Leaving

This restlessness has grown within me

Till now I know it’s to time for me to go

To see new lands, seek new horizons

And to say goodbye to everything I know

To say goodbye to the forests of pine

The mountains towering above

The sparkling lake with its deep blue depths

The land that I know and love

To say goodbye to the sturdy ranch house

The home I helped my father make

It’s been my shelter and my haven

And leaving it will make my heart ache

But the land and the house are just things

And the hardest part for me

Is saying goodbye to the people I love

My treasured family

I know my leaving will hurt my brothers

And break my father’s heart

They don’t really understand why I’m going

And why we have to part

They don’t understand this wanderlust

This need explore new places

To visit a world far beyond these shores

See new sights and meet new faces

But I know wherever I go, be it near or far

They’ll be with me in my heart

And I know that they’ll welcome me when I return

No matter how long we’re apart

For that’s what a family is all about

Letting you do what you must

And sending you off with a smile, not a tear

Carrying all of their love and their trust