Slouched and snoring on the sofa
Holding an empty bottle
At the end of an empty day
My little arms extended
Almost toppled as he slumped to me
Did my best to guide him to his rest
And that is how he said goodbye
My last picture of him captured for all of time
That is how he said goodbye

She wiped the tears from her eyes
As the echoes of the yelling stopped
Turned and walked away
As she blew out the candle of her heart
I reach out to stop her
But she was already out the door
She whispered “I’ll miss who I thought you were”
Without even looking back one time more
And that is how she said goodbye
The last sound she made was the closing of the door
That is how she said goodbye

She told me the same story
With all the same suspense and surprise
I chose to ignore the signs
Of the clear and long goodbyes
It’s hard to be there for a mother  
That taught you to never need another
And that is how I said goodbye
With the gun of indifference and the bullet of inaction
That is how I said goodbye

In the end there is the end
Fade to black; the standard trope
But I picture more a giving back
Of all things that made up me
Scattered far and wide across the galaxy
To be used again ad infinitum
And that is how I’ll say goodbye
One last repeating encore acted out again
That is how I’ll say goodbye