Goodbye

A poem reflecting on endings through the use of metaphor

Goodbye is a dancing minstrel
Twisting wildly to brightly colored music
Sweat beads his forehead in exhilaration
As he ducks and leaps in abandon
Spinning further and further away
Slowly fading out of view
Until only the empty music remains

Goodbye is a silent meeting
In a secret place where hush reigns
And careless words scatter like diamonds
Against an inky, starless sky
Permanent parting is a bitter sorrow
And the sun rises to frown disapprovingly
Breaking up the hidden night

Goodbye is an icy windstorm
Cutting through protective coverings
Slicing everything vulnerable mercilessly
The crazy icicles clinging hungrily
To the residue of a moistened heart
And the fingers of hope are whitened
Soon all is completely numb

Goodbye is a solemn soldier
Sleeping on the hard floor
Of forsaken family and friends
Dying beside the living wounded
Sternly crushing all reference to home
Looking into the future and not knowing
If it contains today’s dreams