leaving (to the emigrant)

sometimes leaving is not easy,
it’s different from when the baby cries all night
and you pick a stray blanket and pillow
to find a space for your tired body on the couch.
with this kind of leaving you have to un-cremate memories,
make them live and tag along with you,
make them lug the landscapes that make them real
to paste them on the tarmacs of newfoundland.
some things are easier said than done;
our mouths leave when they speak about leaving,
yet we remain rooted to the same spaces,
fearing to brave the rootlessness of wandering,
but one day, when you finally close your mouth
know that you have slammed the door
and that it’s time you took your things and left.

(C) Tanaka Chidora, 2019
From BECAUSE SADNESS IS BEAUTIFUL?

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