PhD

I hated that year
when I walked to the curb
with the For Sale sign
but would not wipe the tear
that said how much I hated that year
for teaching lessons it was not
Its place to teach
and taking things that were mine
by a twist of the mind
and making me believe
what I gave up
was less than
what I gave it up for.
Enough times I reached
for the thing on the shelf that I could not reach
without dragging a chair
and rocking unsteadily because
the legs were never smooth and even
and waiting for help
was just too hard and too long.
I know I will walk out tomorrow
and take down the sign
when people begin to stop and bargain
and place numbers, auctioning and asking
where I am going
and I again will have to not know
but use clichés because I am too furtive
to say it aloud because
it is the type of place that I will only know
and only I will know when I get
There.