To Leave

To leave is to live as Life
is often no more than a string of goodbyes
made harsh by memories, sweet and strong;

To leave is to love, to feel
that ache in your center, and yet
refuse to break around it;

To leave is to lose your tears until they,
having known storms more wild and desperate,
remain locked away;

To leave is to lie that all will remain
just as it was, though years wear and change
and you know the truth;

To leave is to look in the face of the future
and choose to follow this path despite,
to rely on the Light;

To leave is to long that one day,
in the cavernous future you
and I will meet again.