deepundergroundpoetry.com

In the West

You stand there
through the dry heat
with no cloud in sight
to threaten rain.
You sit among it
unmoved by it.
And with the pace
of rising dough
you add to yourself,
making it better,
adding and changing.
But while doing this
you let little bits
of who you were
fly off in the breeze
or you tear them down
with deliberation
as if they didn�t deserve it
�your love and loyalty.

I used to stand with you
through heat and the cold.
But I am now gone.
I left you in your place
there on the plain.
And I sit and stare
off to the west
and I wonder�
Will you keep changing
while I�m away?
You did before,
but will you do so again?
Which parts of you
will you forget,
now that I�m not there
to remind you of them?
What strange creatures
will come and change you
into something that�s theirs
and no longer mine?

I am almost too afraid
to learn the answers
to these questions
So I will stay away
outside your bubble,
off in my own.