Retreat

On break, a kitchen worker is reading a newspaper
Behind an office window a computer screen glows
its cool, hypnotic light.
The world calls: I could just check my mail.
How are the Giants doing?
Is the market still down?
Is there an earthquake somewhere?
Or a new war? No doubt.
But as the brave general said, our retreat
Is an advance in another direction.
It’s a small death:
we let the world go on
without us.
Our memories and inspirations
will vanish, unremarked
as we dissolve into emptiness
while earth and heaven continue.