Naked And Planning New Retreats Poem by Robert Rorabeck

Like the pamphlets read,
A memorable ibis in the home of
The dogs,
And now even the houses move,
Following the housewives after
The storm of their leaving—
Following them across the canals
And into the fairy tales’ neighborhoods—
Awakened, a little boy amidst
The rattle snakes congregating on his
Front lawn—
From the ocean, pearls—
Up in the sky, opalescent, laying down
The censures of time—
Did they see her leaving, or did
They look the other way?
After all, no one returns from high school—
Not in their right mind,
But she is over the ocean now—
Beautiful, naked and planning new
Retreats.