by Daniel Halpern

We were desperate. No, we were beyond desperation.
We were beside ourselves. At wit’s end.
We said we could slip outside, that was it.
Get in the car and just keep on driving. Never look back.
No second thoughts. No chance of posing as salt.

But they’d find us, you said. They’d bring us back
and it would begin again. We could start a new life.
We could begin again, trying the something new.
The road ahead again untrod, winding beyond the next curve
with speed and assurance. Did I say we were desperate?

The lightning took over and revealed the night.
The landscape looked altered–rocks and trees
no longer where they had been hours before.
We hadn’t made a move, but we were desperate.
Desperate still–oh, desperate beyond description.

But, they’d find us, you said. They’d bring us back.
We said we could slip outside, that was it.
Never look back. No second thoughts.
We were desperate. At wit’s end. Beside ourselves.
The landscape looked altered, beyond description.

We could begin again. Something new,
The landscape looked altered. Never look back.
Did I say desperate to try something new?
A new life? The road ahead untrod, winding beyond.
We hadn’t made a move–just kept on driving.

Ralph, thanks for the poem. I was great working with you. Good luck in retirement! I also like the Dylan song, Restless Farewell, that you recommended:

Oh all the money that in my whole life I did spend,
Be it mine right or wrongfully,
I let it slip gladly past the hands of my friends
To tie up the time most forcefully.
But the bottles are done,
We’ve killed each one
And the table’s full and overflowed.
And the corner sign
Says it’s closing time,
So I’ll bid farewell and be down the road.

Oh ev’ry girl that ever I’ve touched,
I did not do it harmfully.
And ev’ry girl that ever I’ve hurt,
I did not do it knowin’ly.
But to remain as friends and make amends
You need the time and stay behind.
And since my feet are now fast
And point away from the past,
I’ll bid farewell and be down the line.

Oh ev’ry foe that ever I faced,
The cause was there before we came.
And ev’ry cause that ever I fought,
I fought it full without regret or shame.
But the dark does die
As the curtain is drawn and somebody’s eyes
Must meet the dawn.
And if I see the day
I’d only have to stay,
So I’ll bid farewell in the night and be gone.

Oh, ev’ry thought that’s strung a knot in my mind,
I might go insane if it couldn’t be sprung.
But it’s not to stand naked under unknowin’ eyes,
It’s for myself and my friends my stories are sung.
But the time ain’t tall,
Yet on time you depend and no word is possessed
By no special friend.
And though the line is cut,
It ain’t quite the end,
I’ll just bid farewell till we meet again.

Oh a false clock tries to tick out my time
To disgrace, distract, and bother me.
And the dirt of gossip blows into my face,
And the dust of rumors covers me.
But if the arrow is straight
And the point is slick,
It can pierce through dust no matter how thick.
So I’ll make my stand
And remain as I am
And bid farewell and not give a damn.