No more to Leiden

No more to Leiden will I travel.
No more the KLM commute from BHX to AMS.
No more the mangling of Dutch directions
To Taxi drivers in torrential rain.
No more the 45 to Schipolwek.

The coffee grinder is back home.
The Italian leather bag is beneath the bed.
All the gaily coloured mugs are now
In one single kitchen cupboard, resting.
The passport sleeps under the knickers.

No more Skyping and cajoling.
No more meetings of indefinable intent.
No more joyous carousing to all
Hours, celebrating the birth of new
Soft children being battered each second.

Friday was my last day in Leiden, my last day at Joost. I've said farewell so many times over the past week that I won't repeat it here. The future is a more interesting place to travel to than the past. But the past will always be a warm place to visit.