-- No Final Words of Farewell --

By John Herlihy

In my long and extensive travels,

Across rivers, valleys, wheat fields.

There have been certain moments,

That would speak If they could tell.

Moments of leave-taking, departure,

Without any final words of farewell.

The mind simply filled to bursting,

The tenseness strangling the throat.

No room for any final words of farewell,

The eyes stinging mightily and watering.

The stuffed nose running as flooded rivers,

With no room for any final words of farewell.

The silence in my ears was deafening,

In my heart tolled a mournful, echoing bell.

No room for those final words of farewell,

Once strangers, we became friends on the way.

Memories of our friendship already vanishing,

But no room for any final words of farewell.

Have you ever left behind someone, anyone,

A person you would never see again.

The mind and heart broken into pieces,

Lost in the folds of life’s crevices and creases.

To walk to the horizon in the darkness,

Never to look back at the disappearing friend.

As I turned around finally to depart,

The light fell down upon your shoulders.

My footsteps sounding on the ground of my heart,

You there in silhouette standing amid the boulders.

Our destinies have dictated that we must part,

Without any final words of farewell.

What would be the words I could finally say,

Words that could summon winter snow in May.

Words that could envelope the moment in peace,

Words to echo across distance and never cease.

Alas, this is a moment as deep as a desert well,

With no need for any final words of farewell.

To this day, I still remember the moment well,

A moment that still has so much to tell.

As I walked into the future of what will have been,

Its shadow gathered with all the shadows of time.

All the memories of those I would never see again,

Memories that would stay faithful, forever mine.

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(c) John Herlihy 25 October 2018