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I couldn’t say see you later

My dictionary only had goodbyes

It was easy to carry in memory

but difficult to bring to the tongue

Every goodbye is not a goodbye

They keep occurring in our memories

keep pouring into our thoughts

when we pass their homes

read their old texts

scroll through their frozen posts

stand where they stood

laugh where they laughed

sit at the tables they shared

meet the creatures they loved

hold the people they held

They surface

Quietly

Without permission

It feels strange

Like the wind carrying a forgotten fragrance

Like the moon pulling unfamiliar tides

Like the sea arriving in different waves

Everything looks different

even when we know

it is the same