[Poem] Dead End in December

Dead End in December

When you leave me, don’t think
You’ve truly gone.
You’re fastened to too many gluons
And neurons, anchored to this gray
Beneath bone between wood and wave.

Don't believe you’re some sea gull.

You haven’t wings.

Sitting by the seaside, these planks
Of ancient piers,
Let those ships sail on without you.

You try to live like everyone else.
You try to mind your business.
You get married, you have your children,
But you will return.

Whether from Yoharneth-Lahai,
Antarctica, Pakse, some Plutonian bay,

The call is deep, relentless,
Your true fate an old cobblestone

Set in place long ago
When we first began to howl together,
Pledging faith from the same shadows.