At first, the speaker sounds almost casual: he could buy a plane or train ticket and be gone, as if his body and a few household items were all he is. But then he corrects himself. His memories and feelings are “disobedient”; they will not leave or take orders. So even if he physically goes, the essential self remains behind, caught in an internal fight. The title “Fugitive” fits not because he successfully runs away, but because some part of him tries to escape from the rest of him. The mood is wry and slightly melancholic; the speaker is honest about how little control we have over the parts of us that truly weigh us down. The final image is especially striking: what departs is only a “heft” of him—a heavy fragment—escaping from the struggle, while the real person stays tangled in memory and feeling.
Fugitive — Summary
Yes, I can go. I can leave right now. An aeroplane or train ticket for 10 or 15 pounds of flesh and bones, including some clothes and some necessary domestic things, and .... goodbye.
However, I’m not gone, as my memories and feelings are disobedient. They never leave, and I can’t dictate anything to them.
So, when you see me leaving don’t even think I’m gone. It’s not me. It’s just a heft of myself escaping from fighting with me.