August

[bwasroy]

Edit:

August

Say goodbye, driving home with the radio off.

Say goodbye, looking out at the moon,
remembering her cold hands come pumpkin carving time.

She said autumn is now my favorite season
because we spent all summer
smoking and staring at our shoes.

Say goodbye, shifting between radio static
and swallowing pills
so you fall onto the pillows
like a body stumbles from a ledge.

Goodbye, broken glass.

Goodbye, hand towels and carving knife.

Say goodbye, writing if you can.

She said, Don’t worry about the night,
it was always too dark for me.
You're thinking about this too much.
Keep going. The ghosts will be gone by morning. 



Original:

You can say goodbye by driving home with the radio off.

You can say goodbye by staring out at the moon,
remembering her cold hand come pumpkin carving time.

She said autumn is now my favorite season
because we spent all summer
smoking and staring at our shoes.

You can say goodbye by shifting between static
and swallowing a handful of sleeping pills
so you can fall onto the pillows
like a body might stumble from a ledge.

Goodbye, broken glass.

Goodbye, hand towels and carving knife.

You can say goodbye by writing if you can.

She said, Don’t worry about the night,
it was always too dark for me.
You’re thinking about this too much.
Buy a motor car. Drive somewhere far from me.
The ghosts will be gone by morning.