Poem for the day

Out walking the other day, I thought of how luxurious it is to be anonymous, if only for a for an hour.  To be completely unknown, unseen, and unheard.  To escape the sometimes overwhelming pressure of attention that must be paid to the overlord of responsibility.  Sigh.  Taking a simple walk on a nice, fall day feels like heaven. Listen to my heart.

I disappear in increments

too small for any instrument to see;

Afraid to make a run for it

thinking of all that I would leave

behind me.

On occasional days I vacate my life

pretending to be elsewhere.

It’s easier to handle stress and strife

when I can numb the screaming fear

inside me.

The phrase “Getting away”

takes on new meaning

when you’re forced

to stay

not quite against your will.

It’s just that still, sometimes,

after all these years

I whisper-wish I were Nobody

in a deep-blue knee-length hoody,

a shadow on someone’s lawn

where I could sleep ’til dawn

before going home where I must belong.