The pages of your story
will no longer include me;
I ponder your absence
like a rear view mirror moment
wondering when we turned
a separate page
I struggle to remember
constantly rehearsing good-bye
longing for an era
whose end we never saw coming
clasping photographs
hugging you the only way I still can
friendship steeped in memories
trailing behind like bread crumbs
we cannot follow back
and though our roads diverged
long before farewell
I will find closure without you.