You have eaten the gingerbread house,
my children. Left me
in changing weather. Every evening,
the sun goes down earlier.
I was so anxious to fatten you up,
I failed to save crumbs
to mark my way home.
Ava Leavell Haymon
from her book Why the House is Made of Gingerbread
Louisiana State University Press, 2010
used with permission of the poet