EXIT STRATEGY Elaine took me to her German psychic, as expected, she saw everything. Our bad days and our glories. The history of the times and species; we have been together for generations.                        Realizing how long I have been with Elaine made me feel tired – I didn’t realize we’d been working things out for over 400 years. That’s a long time to accommodate a sentient being, I don’t care what form I was in; me as: Her cat Her dog Her sister Her butler Her mother Her hair stylist Gerta saw it all against her inner astral cineplex. I didn’t know I was once a charming pistol packing pescalero a handsome Mexican bandit who charmed Elaine (in an earlier even more succulent form) to indulge my desires. Irresistible under a vast pecan tree. My sombrero tossed casually to the side The Milky Way strung over our heads. I pick the flower she willingly offers me. We melt into the warm night – two sentient beings as happy as two sentient beings could ever be. She, the sheriff’s daughter virgin, sixteen, flawless filled with secret flames Me, hanging from a pecan tree limp, twitching, forlorn looking a bit bewildered My sombrero tossed hurriedly to the side Too many lives to hold in one small boat. Yet on we sail, east to paradise fighting our way toward enlightenment, the only exit strategy for two weary souls.