Time Spent Far Away

When we
feel like islands
but the kind with no sun
waiting for a shipwreck

it can be easy to unplug
to let the indicator light
dim to nothing
and cut the hardline

it can be freeing
of course it can
time spent far away

from places and people
and things most of all
those things that they carry
the unchecked baggage

"wouldn't it be nice?"
sing to yourself
let your voice echo
off the featureless walls

no one comes calling
no proof of absence
you may well be dead
but you still live yet

it can be freeing
as a matter of course
time spent far away

the silence will get to you
but it will get you, too
like a smiling reflection
on a particularly bad day

seductive, isn't it
no obligation
no continuity
a single perspective

but in time you're not away
you're just in a way
with new routines
and new foibles

soon the wind shifts
and the sailing ships
come crashing into the rocks

Good, you will think
someone else
has gotten away