THE DAY I SUDDENLY LEAVE

A child I don’t know
comes to my front door
and stands there.
My mother comes
and scolds him:
“Where\'ve you been all this time!”
I’d like to say,
“Mom, this boy isn’t me.
It’s me that\'s here.”
But at such a time
one can’t find the words.
So he and my mother
go inside.
“Have you done your homework?
Wash your hands!
Haven’t you finished eating yet?”
Words-words and more words
keep coming.

Oh, I didn’t know
that today was the very day.
I’ve got to get
out of here
and walk on to some place a long way off
where there’ll be no memories left.
And then someday I’ll be
some other child,
standing at someone else’s front door—
just like that boy,
and I’ll say, “I\'m home!”

THE DAY I SUDDENLY LEAVE