Goodbye's are Butterflies

A poem about saying goodbye

In the middle of kindergarten

Kate Washington, My best friend

Who lived down the block and to the left

Moved away

 

In first grade

Phillip Donovan, My best friend

Who lived down the block and to the right

Moved away

 

In fifth grade, he came back

One day at the lunch table

He told me he didn’t want to be my friend

Because he and the other boys in my class

Thought I was weird

 

After high school

My friends scattered

Across the country

Ames, Chicago, New York, Pheonix

Keeping in touch

Building a wall of email

And facebook and missed voicemail messages

Growing further apart with the distance staying the same

 

After walking down the isle

For my bachelors

College friends became

Consumed in grad school

Or their career or marriage or children

Letting four years of memories

Fall behind in the trail of dust

 

Time does not stand still for the nostalgic

The clock keeps ticking

This is something I learned

From a very young age

People will come and people will go

Wiping the dirt off the stars in my eye

Leaving the world brighter

And more beautiful than before

 

The only constant has been my

Father, Mother, and Brothers

So now it’s my turn

To pick up my pebbles

Skipping them across the river of fate

Holding on for dear life

That I don’t fly off

Drowning in my own decision

 

I don’t know what this new life

Will have in store for me

But hopefully it’s better

Than the one I have

I can tell by the tracks of tears

You don’t want me to go

But I hope you understand

This is no longer a choice

But rather a must

 

And I hope you know

Goodbye’s are butterflies

They lay in the cocoon of my stomach

Resting all through the winter

Until the spring of reunion

Bursting their beautiful wings

Finally set free

 

They fly around our heads

Playing symphonies of friendship

The notes rise so high

Blocking the suns rays

And we sit in the shadow

Of the orchestra

Playing the most beautiful

Song our ears have heard

And the violins rise to the sound of

“It’s so good to see you”

And the cymbals crash

“I love you”

And we talk like I have never left

 

But we both know this moment

Won’t last forever

So we savor every breath

Until we both must say

Goodbye again

Reviews

[Serenity Faith]

You tell such emotion through your poetic stories. So much emotion I'm not sure how to reply back, for I've not been in your shoes. All I can say is I hope the best for you, you who has been through so much from harsh judgement. The hard things in life only build you up and make you stronger. Sometimes good comes from those bad as well. In this case it is your talent to write.