Hug a stranger,
cry with friends.
Welcome home
your first time here.
Loathsome deeds retold
draw hoots of rapport
while a beetle’s gently
borne outside.
Abstinence of days
or decades or yet
just out of grasp,
we gather, fellowship,
and celebrate a Power
who sets us free
from food and fear.
Three days of insight
sharpen tools and reveal
what God is doing for us
that we could not do for us.
Today we separate, assured
  We shall be with you in the
  Fellowship of the Spirit,
  and you will surely meet some of us
  as you trudge the Road of Happy Destiny.
  May God bless you and keep you—until then.