In "I'm Leaving," the speaker imagines retreating into a private world where nothing can hurt her. It begins in tidy, rhyming couplets, but the form gives way to a long block of prose, as if she can no longer keep her feelings neatly contained.
The imagined world is safe because it is empty: no past, no future, no friends, and so no loneliness. She argues that you can't feel lonely if you've never known anything else. Beneath this logic is a deep ache to belong, and a fear of being alone.
The final lines explain why she wants to disappear. She lists painful experiences, including abuse, hunger, a looming court case, and constant worry for her little sister. Each "I can't handle it on top of..." piles on more weight. The mood is raw, exhausted, and desperate, ending on a blunt, heartbreaking admission: "I can't handle this."