song for home

i never learned how to leave

because i came to Life

in quivering obedience

a slow stillness

p u l s i n g

along the tracery of me

when home grows, red and vicious;

                      falls, silent and dull;

                      kills; numb and cold;

then: i Absorb Breathe Coalesce

i pry into the rot as a reward

i believe i am good

and thus

i do not leave

if only my roots could take anywhere

in the vastness of this beautiful land

because this vile place sickens ensnares keeps me

and i would tear myself up from my place,

                      run to every windswept corner,

                      breach the gates of Heaven and Hell,

but

i never learned how to leave