Putting Down the Pen

PUTTING DOWN THE PEN
By Sandra Miller
Originally published in Long Story Short

It's like decompressing, you know?
The bends.
Coming back up from the bottom,
re-entering the real world.
Yet

Part of my mind remains
buried in the story
out of reach,
fretting for people who don't exist
and things that didn't happen.

It's like decompressing,
the bends.
I am preoccupied,
far from here.
My husband says "what's wrong?"
It's like decompressing, you know,
The bends.