The Myth of a Round Earth

You leave behind cottages you nailed together,
renovated studios with sagging floors you
decorated, move to new landmasses thinking,
"Keep on pushing through. You cannot lose
a thing just because you leave it behind." You
leave behind tropical-fruit skins and hair-dos
saying, "The streets were empty anyway.
No one will know." No one but you will know
what you left behind. The streets keep
falling off the face of the earth now. They
went on straight when you left them. They
went on straight and when they finally reach
the edge, they turn once to look for you before
jumping, saying, "We are not the chosen ones."
You choose and do not choose and now and
then some of the unchosen reach back and
grab onto the lip of the edge one last time,
demanding, "Should we really go?"

(1998)