such a great loss,
that of the family;

of friends
and heritage;
the ancestral name.

it ends in the loss,
begins with a gain;
the last, lone survivor,
attains.

not so much
as by choice,

but force,
in the main:

the force
a prevailing
wind.

O! Ye Winds!
Ye Winds of Change!

so much is the loss,
to such little gain –

boon and loss,
all the same.

O! what a cost
begins with the gain.

©2016, Marvin Welborn
21 July 2016