this is another kind of walk-about poem
one where I swim through my consciousness
and over by the edges where the feelings of each time of me
are sometimes there for the touching
and I feel the sadness of leaving Washington DC
in my 25th year
1969
leaving who I was
a fledgling teacher at Roper Junior High
over the Anacostia on E. Capitol St. SE
my bond with my students and my love of who they were
stretched thin by time and distance
leading to a long silent mental break
I have just now realized 48 years later
2017
how could I have stayed I wonder
all the logic of the world said
job over
move on
so I ignored what I knew
moved up to New Bedford
became a newspaper reporter
for awhile
left part of my heart
broken off
in
DC