How Do I Say Goodbye?

41

You came like sparrow’s gentle flight
Alighting on my windowsill
Drawing the morning sun with song
How do I say goodbye?

You woke me with your tender words
As if I slept eternal sleep
And never knew the world was waiting
How do I say goodbye?

You stirred my heart with a tenderness
That I had never known
And gentled my storm-tossed soul with a kiss
How do I say goodbye?

You taught me bravery
Though my world was tainted with fervent blood
I never knew what courage was
How do I say goodbye?

The splendor of your soul made roses pale
Though you never took notice
Because beauty comes from the spirit within
How do I say goodbye?

It’s only in the losing of you
That I begin to understand what could have been
What should have been
How do I say goodbye?

And now the sparrow has again taken flight
And life’s most precious gift is stolen
From trembling, callused hands
How do I say goodbye?

I never realized there was an emptiness inside
Where a shadow of a man lived
Waiting for your hand in mine
How do I say goodbye?

A final kiss on sleep-chilled lips
An errant lock brushed aside
I know that you’re gone, that you’ll wait for me
How do I say goodbye?

A brother’s love pulls me away
His tender grip steadies me
And holds me to the promise to never change
And to never say goodbye

7/17/2000