There used to be an Away
In the air, where we could burn out plastic things in a barrel behind our home
Fumes drifting away to somewhere, anywhere
There used to be an Away
A secret basement where we stuffed all our feelings, and the things we wanted that society didn’t want for us
Never mind our occasional outbursts and inexplicable despairs
There used to be an Away
Where we let all the poor people live
It was far away from us, the important, deserving people
There used to be an Away
Where all our cheap things came from that helped us remain comfortable and complicit
We honestly couldn’t care where it came from, as long as it didn’t take our jobs
But now, the Away is gone
Or rather, Away was simply a figment of our imaginations in the first place.
poof.
When there’s no Away, all we are left with is the Here (and Now)
Without Away, we are just left with ourselves and the more-than-human world… and a lot less illusions
Understanding this is all there is feels scary as hell
Seeing that we may not only have to rely on each other
But give up some of our toys, and the fake safety blankets and cheap substitutes
However, giving up our illusions will save us
Not just from physical death, which we’ve all been living in fear of
But from the death we already live – every day we are not fully alive and awake
This death —
a death of obedience,
and not speaking up,
and trying to look like the others,
and being afraid of the dark
A true sun is dawning, finally
Will we step out into the light?