10 Ways To Say Goodbye
A poem by Cathy Ferrell

10 Ways To Say Goodbye

1. Unfriend. Delete the phone number. Delete the messages.

2. Shrug. A neat alternative to an expletive. For those you want to dismiss. Eye contact not necessary.

3. Wave. Emotionless. When you need to get away from a large group.

4. Side hug. Release quickly. For acquaintances and awkward leave-taking. For those who aren’t huggers. For you, when you’ve had enough of someone nice.

5. Two-arm embrace. Save exclusively for someone you really like. If you’re lucky, they won’t pull away first.

6. Loiter in the parking lot while everyone talks. This one’s not ideal.

7. Loiter in the restaurant booth. Savor your glass of wine. You may or may not be alone at this point.

8. Sit with them. Say anything but goodbye. Do they know you’re there?

9. Cry into the corner of the elevator on the way down from the ICU.

10. Wake up in the night and be glad you followed through on Number 8 because that word is too final and this way you imagine you’ll give them a two-arm hug next time you see them and maybe next time you’re sitting alone in the restaurant booth you’ll imagine them joining you as you savor the last drip of anything dry.

About the Author:

Cathy Ferrell is a poet, writer, and educator from Central Florida. Her work can be found online at Red Noise Collective, Quibble.Lit, sinkhole, and Compulsive Reader, and in the scholarly collection, Shakespeare and Latinidad, edited by Trevor Boffone and Carla Della Gotta. Connect with Cathy at ferrellwords.com.

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