These Goodbyes

 

I’m alone. While you’re speeding

down the interstate.

How far could you go, can you go,

before turning around and

letting me whisper again onto your bare,

sweat glistened skin.

 

Dread slides down my cheeks,

wet and hot and black,

mirroring the tread on your tires.

I know these goodbyes.

 

I know the two hour drive

away from the boy

who caressed my jutty hips and

clung to my thighs, begging me not to

leave.

 

I know the fifteen hour flight

away from the man

who sang me sweet lullabies,

played my body like a harp,

and swore I was his muse

 

And I know your six hour race

towards North Carolina.

Towards your own life

of calloused hands, leathery skin

and simple pleasures.

 

Away from this woman

who promised you

a permanent love,

who had never before been

on the receiving end

of goodbye.

Reviews

[Patient Poet (Yos)]

Thats so sad but beautiful like our life Yos

[Kara Hadley]

amazing doesn't begin to cover it. this was...wonderful.
i definately understand the sentiment here. i'm usually the one to run (figuratively or literally), and the first time it happened to me was hard. i'm still not completely over it.

this really was a great poem.

[Blindmikey]

I don't know if it's true or not, but I've always held on to the idea that everything that happens has it's purpose. And I think Rain said it best: 'they are also the goodbyes that lead me to my wife.' You've penned this incredibly well. Very Raw. It succeeds at bringing back a lot...

It's this that we share, that makes our pain meaningful.
Bringing a greater understanding and a higher ability to relate; to love.

Wonderful work.

[Rain]

What a great piece. The many, many goodbyes that still haunt. I wrote a piece called " To All Those Who Broke My Heart." These are loves I still recall, but they are also the goodbyes that lead me to my wife. Had any of those turned out different, I would never have met her. Lady Shade said something very interesting.." I love lost loves." Your piece, although sad, is also filled with poignant pages of your book. Memories of "what if's" and " If only's." What a hollow book it would be without the loves you speak of. Your piece has such great lines, and was written from the heart. I loved it. Rain..

[Lady Shade]

How blessedly amazing and vivid... the imagery flows like this river of discontent, a swelling sadness that is profound yet so powerful and in control. I love the loss of lovers... the reality of those drifting into their other lives... the strength of never being willing to be left... the desire to always behold even what cannot be contained. I was mesmerized by so many lines, I can't toss them out without simply reposting the entire work of art. ...but... "begging me not to leave" "played my body like a harp" "I know these goodbyes"... so much of those words slide through me quicksilver... this serpent of truth that evokes far too much memory and far too many thoughts I don't wish to deal with tonight. Lovely poem with an edge that lights up my wit and gave me that Cheshire cat grin that I always get when I feel inspired... or insatiable... or both. My incredible reverence and a toast of my fantastic cocktail of words, dreams, and, well, what I usually add to my cocktail, to you tonight. And have a wonderful holiday.

[RedChickPoet]

The stanza that hit me the most was - "Dread slides down my cheeks, wet and hot and black, mirroring the tread on your tires. I know these goodbyes."

I think you are a very good writer. I've done the whole long distance relationship thing. Whether temporary or permanent, this piece really portrays the longing and loss of having to say those goodbyes that we don't want to say.