Till Next Time
by Ted Kaiser
Say not to me, “goodbye”, rather say only “see you next time”
For as God as my witness, there is no such thing as “departing”
For all there is, is “returning”.
Surely you will see me again
Though your eyes may not recognize me
Your soul will know it
And your nose will smell it
As if I were a scent of twenty colors.
Know my true likeness, surely you will again, my love
Though your grace cannot touch my bottom
Laugh will I, with you, and also with you, I will cry
In all your patient errands, love you I do so sweetly
As cold winds ever blow you by, your monument I testify.
May you scatter my ashes to the sea
And smile upon knowing that I am free
Free from the white stars that long held me down
Hung by the opioid dream of achieving them
But now it is I who wears the crown.
It was fate who wrote me as those bound to sleep
In which no such dazzling manifesto can wake
Me up, from mine slumber deep.
So shall you find, every lighted star in the night sky
Speaks to you all the wonder that I once said
And every such singing breeze
Does equivalent unto you as I once did.
For as there is no such a real thing as being gone
There is no such a real thing as being here, if you
Loathe the place that lies beyond
And detest the ground you walk on,
For you must walk the rest of the road without me.
We have indeed together journeyed many foothills
But no longer do I possess the feet to move
Nor the eyes to see the dawn erupt into steadfast momentum
Nor the heart to cradle the moon back unto its cosmic hearth
And now you have to pick up the slack of my lost momentum: not really lost at all!
Though you cry tears wishing I was there by your side
I have alas never spent a day in your pocket when you were holding me.
Surely you will come running to me again
On a sunny green pasture by a river, like when we first met
The sky will be clear, and we will have all the time
In the world to talk about the things we held dear.
See that you do not need to see me
For it to be like I am standing right there next to you
Nor do you need to touch my face so gently
As to turn me into your eyes
Nor need you to hold me fast
To grasp my likeness.
Keep me as a secret in your heart when I go, and I will forever be a part of you
Aye, for I shall be building ice-caverns in your backyard when it starts to snow
And even if hail falls down from the sky, still will I not take refuge inside your abode
May you have hot cocoa and marshmallows and a roaring fireplace
I don’t need those things anymore
To be complete
Upon the eternal air.
I will hear you humming when the autumn wind blows
Though I thought the storm would pass, now I walk the path alone
And I don’t have anywhere else to go except the ground below
Where I stammer about the rubble of my broken boat: I flew too close
To the sun that paints my dreams with rose.
So till the world parries your will with a grave you cannot explore
Gaze in reflection of what nearly missed washing upon the shore.