Today, I had retired

 

As dusk unfurls its shadowy blanket,
and sporadic flutters of sparrow’s wings echo
through the tranquil sanctuary of my bedroom’s
open window,

it's time to peel off the day's attire,
the cocoon in which I journeyed
from the soft familiarity of home
to a different identity of work then back,
and consign them to the hamper's depths.

To prepare for the same tomorrow,
a ritual that has been etched in the sands of time
it's also time to confront the closet,
to select the hues that will adorn my skin
tomorrow.

But tonight, the closet stood barren,
a hollow echo of what once was.
there was nothing in there
to change into.

I stood puzzled, bare and vulnerable,
like a deer caught in the glaring headlight,
and it slowly dawned on me,
like the first rays of a daybreak,
that today, I had let go
a significant part of me.

Today, I had retired.