Saying Goodbye
Part XI
On Missing You Too Soon
written by: Doug Stanfield (Hemmingplay)
@hemmingplay
I imagine
the differences …
The unfamiliar,
lengthening silences,
The way dust devils will
gather in corners, waiting
for a broom that
will never come,
or at least
not as often.
I walk into a room and
think, what would it be like
without your presence,
without your questions,
without you …..
I think of destinations,
then realize I might go alone,
with no map-challenged
navigator riding shotgun,
sure that left is right.
You’ve been the story
for so long I won’t
remember times
without you,
skeptical, practical,
leery of risks
but a giver of chances,
of kindnesses,
of strengths and
of ambiguity.
And I find myself
imagining, finally,
in brief, painful bursts,
that when the ordinary ends,
when you step through a portal,
you will close the door behind you.
It will not reopen,
I cannot follow, and the
echos of our life together
will grow dim,
tears make the world blur,
and the sound of your voice
fades into imperfect memory.
When his sons were safely off making their own mistakes, he turned on the computer one day, stared at the screen for what seemed a long time, and began to learn the craft anew at age 67.
Doug has published three books so far: "Mermaid Sisters: First Dive", a children's book on iTunes/iBook; "I Came From A Place of Fireflies" published as a paperback and Kindle on Amazon, and a new book of poetry, "Snowflakes & Ashes: Meditations on the Temporary”, available as both an ebook and as a paperback. (Gatekeeper Press) on Amazon, Barnes & Noble, iBooks, Ingram and Baker & Taylor, and a few others.)
