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An honest goodbye

Helen Vivienne Fletcher

 

He touched my arm
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at the end of the night.
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This will probably be
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the only time we meet, he said.
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Though we might see each other
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on the street one day
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and we’ll both give fake smiles
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because we know
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we recognise each other
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but we can’t remember from where.
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And then later,
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I’ll remember your name
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and wish I’d stopped
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but I’ll think of how you said
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you’re bad with names
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and guess that you don’t remember mine.
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And the next time we see each other
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I’ll start doing that dance
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of do I stop…
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do I not…
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But you’ll look straight through me
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because you’ve forgotten me
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completely by then.
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He hesitated. Of course we might
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remember each other
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from the Facebook photos
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we’re both tagged in tomorrow.
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A blush crept up his neck.
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I’m sorry, he said.
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I meant it was nice to meet you.
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Hope to see you again sometime.

 

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