Bruce Bennett

 You Say “Goodbye”

You say “Goodbye.” You had a pleasant evening.

The food and conversation hit the spot.

You think, Well, it was nice to get together.

We’ll do it soon. I like them both a lot.

You wonder, Why do we so rarely see them?

We all are busy. Still, it is a shame!

But then, you do not see them for a while.

Then someone mentions them. You hear the name

and ask. You learn it’s sad. In fact, it’s awful!

They’d split, and she has cancer and will die.

No one’s in touch with him, and she’s in hospice.

They seemed so good together. Who knows why

things happen as they do? You can’t recall

that last goodbye. They’re gone, and that is all.

Bruce Bennett’s poetry has appeared recently in Expansive Poetry Online, The Healing Muse, Light, Lighten Up Online, Paterson Literary Review, Pulsebeat, Poetry Porch, and Stone Canoe. He is author of ten poetry books and more than thirty chapbooks. His poetry website is Just Another Day in Just Our Town.