Immigration Act

  Immigration Act.

                 (c.1973)

There was no day to say goodbye;
She flew away beyond the sea,
Banished by man's inhuman laws,
Transient, yet too permanent for us.

There was no day to say goodbye;
The seat was booked, the ticket bought,
The baggage packed, the flat relet,
Before I knew, before I could return.

Seeing her gift now, I recall
Her brown eyes and her raven hair,
Her smile, her half-embarrassed laugh;
Her smile...her laugh...her captivating laugh.

Will she return, or will the memory die,
Stifled by the intervening miles?
Will new experience wean her from her pledge?
And was that chilly day in March our last?

                                   Douglas Hawley