Vanished

The first line of this poem is taken from a poem by Jacob Glatstein.

You vanished with us.
Where we are gone,
You are no longer.

Disappeared, away, forgotten.
We leave nothing behind,
And yet everything.

Where have we gone?
When.
To a past and a future
When we will be safe.

If no one can find you,
No one can hurt you.
Take your time;
They will only follow you if you leave them clues.

But now we are here,
Now we are now.
Forget the future;
You already know how it will end.

But the past?
Hold that,
Or history will kick you
When you least expect it.
Or where you least expect it.

Whom did you leave behind
When you left? When you vanished?
Whom did we leave behind?

Are you here? Are you now?
Existence is questioned,
Released,
Flown from,
Forgotten?
No. Never forgotten--
It is the past.

Vanished.
Gone.
We are all together.
Gone.
I wish I could go home.