On Some Departures Poem by RIC BASTASA

everyone is a moving particle
when someone in the household says
that he is leaving
i do not ask where and why
i ask when
because the next thing that i am concerned with
is how to find
someone to substitute the vacuum that
is left

no one is indispensable
leaving is a matter that i understand
and i am not hurt
even slightly
i welcome it
as a form of a pain rehearsal
after which
depending on the number
the sourness or the bitterness of the taste
in my tongue
i may finally say, well, this is it, this is pain,
it does not hurt anymore
and i tell myself
congratulations you have reached beyond
the threshold of routine disposal

this is my house and my home
i promised myself that i am not leaving