Saying Goodbye
How do I say goodbye to a friend of 50 years. As I sit here thinking about the next time I will see my long-time friend, I think about our goodbye. My friend has cancer spreading throughout her body. The next time I see her may be the last time we are together as beloved friends. she planned a birthday trip to Puerto Rico and she invited me to join her. I accepted the invitation knowing it would be my last time with her. When we settled at the hotel she asked me, “What do you say to someone that was dying?” My response was, I don’t have a set thing, I listen to the person and God to hear what the person may need.
As the week continued, she allowed me to help her dress, get in and out of bed, and help her off the toilet. Today my answer to her question would be to show all the love I have within me, what ever that may look like. The poem that comes to mind is Elizabeth Barrett Browning (1806-1861)
How Do I Love Thee? (Sonnet 43)
How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal grace.
I love thee to the level of every day’s
Most quiet need, by sun and candle-light.
I love thee freely, as men strive for right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood’s faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints. I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life; and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.
This is how you say goodbye, by showing LOVE tirelessly. Dear friend I say ‘goodbye’ through LOVE.