The Final Farewell
For Sam
Jerome

     He has a serenely sorrowful, weary face with deceptively dull eyes, a
sharp mind, and a sad confidence in unreal truths
     He thinks that we will meet again, but as I walk away I know our paths
will cross no longer
     I wonder if he understands these things – these visions I have seen so
vividly – I see in his weary eyes that he does not
     He thinks that I'll be back one day to pick him up out of the gutter
like I always did when we were friends
     But God has a new direction for me – I've said my peace and done all
the things I knew to do
     And now it's over, I'm not coming back, our roads diverged long ago –
he chose his path, I chose mine, so now we both must go –
     We'll sit and reminisce and sing sweet sad songs of love and pain and
friendships that will never end
     But we both know that's not the case – I tried my best to make it
work, but my best wasn't good enough –
     I take one glance back at his sad cheerful face and tears spring
subtly to my eyes as I realize the truth
     I waved with an expression on my face hanging somewhere between lament
and adieu and he waved back with hopefulness
     His soft sad eager eyes are telling me "hurry back to me, my friend" –
I alone seem to realize what I try to tell him with my gaze –
     "I'm not coming back, I can't, I won't – but keep that hope in your
heart, keep my memory – my words – in your mind –
     "I wish that I could promise you I'd return one day, but I've never
lied to you and I won't start now –
    "This is the final farewell."