grabbing your jacket and keys in your hand -

don't slam the door!

Though you think that no-one will understand

as you pack your bags to escape everyone,

grabbing your jacket and keys in your hand -

though you want to flee the commotion, to run

away from a world that is not as it seems

as you pack your bags to escape everyone -

though you need to evade the spins and the schemes,

far from the static, to hear yourself think,

away from a world that is not as it seems -

though you feel others are opaque as black ink,

and you must get outside for a gust of fresh air,

far from the static, to hear yourself think -

though you're seething, huffing, in the depths of despair,

though you're irritated, frustrated, your emotions raw,

and you must get outside for a gust of fresh air -

don't slam the door!

This poem first appeared in The Deronda Review, Spring-Summer 2008