Even though
it would be more
straightforward,
that grief works
like a street,
on the other side of which
are all the places
we need to be.
That would mean
that all we had to do
was wait patiently
for the traffic to abate
before we take
our opportunity.
But really, we don't dare
venture across
until we're ready—
and we're loathe
to be ready
(even going so far
as to resent the conceit
that we will be
eventually)—since
readiness suggests
we've accepted
the premise
that an absence
could infest us
in the first place.
