It's Hurts Too Much to Say Goodbye

It's no easy thing to let things go...
Especially when they're tied
to someone who has passed.
It feels like a second goodbye...
And I am still reeling from the first one;
I'm not ready to say it again.

The empty walls, the imprints in the carpets,
the yawning spaces between
what furniture is left,
all the emptiness casts echoes
through my freshly hollowed heart.
I cannot keep the grief at bay,
for I couldn't even say
goodbye from the start.

I was there, by his side the night he died.
But I could not bear to say it.
Instead, I simply said,
"It's ok. You may go if you must."
And now I must find a way
to be at peace
as I watch these precious items slip away.

Why do goodbyes wound the mortal heart?
Why must we shoulder grief as we bid farewell?
I know his soul is free at last,
so why does his freedom hurt me so?

All I can say is that it hurts too much to say goodbye,
but I wish you well, and I'm glad your soul can soar.