off he goes

• know a man his face seemed pulled and tense
  like he's riding on a motorbike in the strongest winds
  so i approach with tact suggest that he should relax
  but he's always moving much too fast
  said he'll see me on the flipside
  of this trip he's taking for a ride
  he's been taking too much on
  there he goes with his perfectly unkept clothes
  there he goes
  he's yet to come back but i see his picture
  it doesn't look the same up on the rack
  we go way back
  i wonder about his insides
  it's like his thoughts are too big for his size
  he's been taken where i don't know
  off he goes with his perfectly unkept hope
  there he goes
  and now i rub my eyes for he has returned
  seems my preconceptions are what should have been burned
  for he still smiles and he's still strong
  nothing's changed but the surrounding bullshit that has grown
  and now he's home and we're laughing like we always did
  my same old same old friend
  until a quarter to ten
  i saw the strain creep in
  he seems distracted and i know just what is going to happen next
  before his first step
  he is off again