ESCAPE POD
I am sitting next to you
But I am alone
Your words never reach me -
They dance, unaware, in front of my eyes
I hear you speaking
But I just watch quietly the reverberating sounds
Waiting for the room to grow silent again
Nodding my presence from time to time
I feel the tension in you
And I do not want to pollute myself
So instead I imagine boarding an escape pod
And propelling myself into outer space
Then the inevitable question comes:
“So how was your day?”
But I am too far away to answer:
“Oki Doki” comes my absurd reply!
I have lost the connection
Hung up when you entered the room
I wonder if my heart has grown cold
Or the line gone dead
I imagine speaking with someone else
More softly spoken
More emotionally adept
As I move further away from you
I wonder if you notice
That I am no longer present
That I no longer share myself with you
I’m sure you do?
But you are too afraid to say so.