and it’s time to fade away from it.
Time to stand and soar
into the sky-past.

Knowing when to go
is half the challenge. The other half
is going. Taking flight.

It’s ok, you tell yourself.
Everyone left behind will get over it.
You’ll have risen to your occasion,

they will rise to theirs
when the time comes. It’s
how it’s done. One thing:

make sure they understand
that the Work, for you, was never
about spilling your guts.

It was about keeping them in place.
It was about getting to the point
where you could leave it all behind

and rise above, intact
if not truly whole.
It was about not being gutted by living.