Alternate Ending


A Vonnegut,
two Kerouac's,
a Bukowski,
a Hesse,
and a Neruda-
these, apparently, were the essentials.
They're what I grabbed when I
dashed out of the house,
anyway.
Usually it'd've been
a toothbrush and
some underwear
(though I usually forget this)
and some change for the bus.

Running away's not scary when
you think you can come back.
That's how it is in all things.
People run away from other people
because they need time to think
or be alone,
and think that
home will be just as it was
when they're ready to
come back.
But sometimes,
the people that
stay behind
change the locks
or move out
or stop caring.

That's why I grabbed those books.
Just in case I
can't come back.
At least the
important stuff,
the stuff that changed me,
will be with me
wherever I go,
and in the end,
that's all we'll have left anyway.