When they packed up & left
it was as if (overnight)
the whole sea had been drained.
& though the rivers we cried
flowed like the Amazon,
our tears dried in the dust.

In the end, we had nothing
left to give & our sobs
became sighs, became thoughts
that danced on the edge of the flames
of our waking minds & ran
wild in the gloom of our sleep.

They rose like swallows on
an August evening.
They went in search of a last
& final forever,
while we did dishes, took
out trash & watched reruns.

I'll follow them someday,
slough these chores like a snake
from its skin, rising at dusk
as a swift shadow against
the blue night, a rocket
to an undiscovered star.