Taking Leave

 
He’s heading into the past
at twice the speed of time.
If two souls fly apart,
each at the rate of one moment per instant,
how long before they are too distant
to ever greet again?
d/(s1 + s2) = t
0/(1 + 1) = 0
It’s academic.
Even as he turned, it was too late
for me to carry him piece-way.
But maybe there’s a shortcut
in a book we’ve both read,
that I can take to meet him.

Note: According to my parents, to carry someone piece-way
in Liberia is to accompany that person for a short
distance at the beginning of their journey.
It is—or at least used to be—a common courtesy shown
to guests leaving one’s house.

August 19 2023