HOW DO YOU SAY GOODBYE?

How do you properly say goodbye,

Not knowing what tomorrow brings?

How do you fight the urge to cry,

As you pray he’s protected by angels’ wings?

How do you end that last embrace,

When holding on is what you want to do?

How do you find peace and grace,

When your heart is breaking into?

How do you find the strength to smile,

When your eyes are filled with tears?

How do you live without him for a while,

When every moment seems like years?

How do you tell him how proud you are,

When words do justice no longer?

How do you assure him that though he is afar

Your love will only grow stronger?

How do you watch him walk away,

Struggling with such strong emotion?

How do you not beg him to stay,

And honor his commitment and devotion?

How do you properly say goodbye

To a man who means so much to you?

You hold him close and you cry

And you simply say, “I love you.”

Linda Ellis (11-20-07)

(Reprinted here with her permission)

Click here to download a copy of this poem in PDF format.