Leaving

“Leaving” was published in the Madison Review.

You slept in the lee of a saguaro
the dawn when a plane nosedived into

the desert floor waking you with
tequila eyes to the twin red balls

of the flaming metal cocoon
and the actual sunrise

you, rising on stiff knees
unsure which was your fault

implicating yourself in the drama as usual
as streams of birds flew like arrows

or souls, you thought
from the scene

leaving, you thought
everyone is always leaving.