TAKING OFF

is always fraught
with difficulties:
getting the flight,
making the flight,
surviving the flight.
You try
to pack
smart
but usually
don't:
too much shit
gets in the way:
vanity,
memory,
and insanity
of all kinds.
God forbid
you leave
without any
of the above.

Getting into
a relationship
is somewhat like that:
when young
most can fit
easily
into the overhead bin;
the ones
with a few miles,
those frequent flyers,
will need to use
the belly
of the plane.
Their arrival will,
of course,
take longer.
You become a slave
to the carousel
and the mismanagement
of technology;
often times
there's Customs.

We all go round and round
missing, or afraid of asking,
the most obvious
questions like:
why am I so lucky
to have made it
this far? and be blessed
this much?
Usually we all are far too
enamored of ourselves
to think like that.

My advice
to all you would be travelers,
especially to those coming here
to visit me:
Pack light.
I've got more than enough shit
for everyone.

Norman Savage
Greenwich Village, 2013