His cousin called him on the phone
He sang the same, old tired note
"I want to leave home."
So he left the country
For an industrial town
Enjoyed the hustle
Of settling down
Until he found
People with big dreams
They wanted to leave
For the city
They poured some of their ambitious ideas
Into his cup of tea
Until the taste became too strong
So when they left
He strung along
In the city he discovered
A new life, bigger than he hoped for;
Promotion after promotion
Slowly became not enough
He wanted more
He wanted something bigger
London, Paris
The Big Apple
Istanbul, Moscow,
Hong Kong, Tokyo
Copenhagen, Stockholm,
Oslo, Brussels,
There was nowhere he wouldn't go:
Executive CEO traveling,
Mind the shoes
And the Armani suit,
A hundred board rooms
After airport lounges and hotels
Room for two?
No, just the one.
Now it was he
Who had the money to call
His cousin waited for him to say
He wanted to leave again
And so he did.
She sighed, half exasperated
Half amused
"Where do you want to leave to?"
He was quiet for a minute,
Stirring honey into his tea,
Shifting the phone from one ear
To the other, quietly
So he couldn't be heard sniffing
Eyes staring blankly into his mute flatscreen
In his mute living room
In his mute apartment
"Home."