valediction

it is time to bid farewell to these

dry lands of bone and concrete.

such hounds howling at my feet

are silenced in my hasty retreat

long after the cacti turn to mountains

and the streets grow wet with rain

i must say goodbye to this

land where i was made.

i can't help but wonder if this is right

if i'm leaving to spare my own life

or cause pain in my family's eyes

as they watch me leave on a windy sigh.

which is better, to abstain

from all i could obtain, or

to know that my journey

is mine alone to claim?

it's all a part of the game.

i have to make my own name.

to alight from this hellish plain

and survive in a place where my bane

could be anything but the heat.

i hate that this is what i need

but it's important to know my path -

because once i know its careful creed

then it's only a matter of 'who' i want to be.