Leaving Through A Side Door Poem by Rory Hudson

Forgive me, but I shall leave
by a discreet side door
at the end of this night of goodbyes
which we have whispered to each other
to the languid heartbeats of love
which knew its end in its beginning -
sweet toxic nights behind drawn blinds.

No, I shall not make an exit
in any grand manner
through a main door
used to receive visitors for tea and cake
or to turn away the salesmen of mobile phone plans.
I shall slip out of your life while you still sleep -
through the laundry where your clothes
lie discarded, waiting to be washed
clean of the debris of your days -
to a path leading through a tangle of trees,
out a gate, into a street,
where I will once again be he
who once I used to be
(whoever that may be) .