month 6

Reflecting on the travels we make and the discarded pieces of ourselves that we leave behind. Here's a poem for month 6.

when something is temporary

when something is temporary it’s ok to not put down roots

you’ll only be there for a few days so you don’t have to (bother)

take your clothes out of the suitcase

or hang up your coat in the closet.

just leave it on the back of the chair

when you come in the door

and kick your shoes off wherever

it’s ok to track in dirt just this once

this is temporary

when something is temporary,

it’s ok to live on your screen, removed

because you’re documenting the experience

to remember for later

when you’re living somewhere not so finite

it’s ok to not go out at night

with people you’d have to small talk with

to a bar in a part of town you don’t really know

because you might as well get a good sleep

and be fully charged for the next, more permanent adventure

but even though it was temporary, you’ll discover at your next destination

that you forgot your toothbrush in the bathroom when you left

and when you took your hat off on that too-hot bus,

you put it on the seat beside you,

instead of taking it with you when you got off

and though you didn’t consider it temporary at the time,

you’ve realized that you’ve misplaced that certain kind of laughter

that you shared with her in the library

left behind the loving look that your mom gave you through the rearview mirror

as you sat in the backseat on the way home from soccer practice

and you left behind your 20’s in the subway

commuting too long for too many days

because you lived too far away

in a city that was too expensive

and you left your favorite sneakers in the hotel last month

because they were old and let the rain in

and didn’t fit in your suitcase

since you had filled it with new souvenirs

hopefully those will last

and you lost your indignity when indignity became everyday

and you’re pretty sure that his phone number is still

in the back of your mind somewhere

if you ever had the time to go back and look for it

though you’re not sure you want to

but though i wasn’t here last week

and i won’t be here tomorrow

i am here today

and that is something

and somethings aren’t temporary

somethings are something

that we can’t leave behind