don't follow me
if you see me running
down the street
into the subway
into the train
into the seat

i'll plug music into my ears so
the words won't spill out

i'll watch people think over their day;
did you get promoted?
is your best friend a mess?
do you wish you could be free?

the train's wheels screech against the rails
like a fat metal monster calling out in pain
a sound so stringent it plucks my heart's cords
stifled only by the loud murmur of collective Life
my city, my city, don't follow me now
i'm headed northward, eastward 'til i'm out of earshot

you're too much of a perfect storm, my city,
my city, you're too much of a muffled chaos

you're on my heels despite my warnings
i would run faster but the train is deaf as the people who wear headphones and complain when they hear nothing

i'm on your train, dear city, going further than i should

in this way,

i flee conflict.