All farewells should be sudden
immediate, impromptu and quick
none of that unwarranted deluge of emotion,
unnecessary party expenses,
or that uninvited realisation that we are, after all, dispensable
Farewells need never be announced
lest they come with oh so pitiful remorse
Why so soon? We’d only just begun to like you
We’d only just begun to realise why you were here at all.
All farewells should be reported abruptly,
like the breaking news of nothing in particular
swift and casual, calm and composed.
No long winded last minute we’re going to miss you.
No till-we-meet-again send-off’s.
Nothing to hold you back, or make you leave a bit of yourself.
One has to go whole and new.
No shackles of the past, no I’ll-be-back’s,
Just plain and simple,
It was nice knowing you. Goodbye. Have a nice life.
NOORMOHAMED 