we cast off new worlds in every moment
that unravel and solidify in our wake,
where paths split and unwind and split again.

possibilities fold over upon themselves,
a web of being and what will be,
an effluvium of almosts,

a tree branching beyond sight,
here, see a life where i finished school,
and here, one where i fell on a knife as a young man.

another where i ran away from home
and stayed away,
another where i remained alone.

we don’t follow those stories,
we refuse the day that hastens into night
and follow the longest thread.

we ride north across the tundra
and hitch along in an empty freight car until the track runs out,
the trains all loop back around but we keep going.

we trade our retirement watches and wedding bands
for rusted and beaten motorbikes.
we grow scraggly beards and don ill-fitting clothes.

riding past where the roads dissolve,
we get off our motorbikes and keep walking
until our shoes have worn through.

the arctic ocean looming closer and closer.
then we strip down to nothing
and dive into the black water.