A POEM FOR SUMMER SOJOURNERS

ADIOS
“It is a good word, rolling off the tongue
No matter what language you were born with.
Use it. Learn where it begins,
The small alphabet of departure,
How long it takes to think of it,
Then say it, then be heard.

Marry it. More than any golden ring,
It shines, it shines.
Wear it on every finger
Till your hands dance,
Touching everything easily,
Letting everything, easily, go…

Think of things that linger: leaves…
Think of things that disappear.

Think of what you love best,
What brings tears to your eyes.

Something that said adios to you
Before you knew what it meant
Or how long it was for.

Explain little, the word explains itself.
Later perhaps. Lessons following lessons,
Like silence following sound.”

-Naomi Shihab Nye, Different Ways to Pray