I kiss him goodbye
I pat his cheek And feel it Strangely silken to the touch I never realized how silken a beard is So strangely silken to the touch An odd thought to have at such a moment "Goodbye", I say, "Shalom" And we look at each other And I know He knows The things I want to say Were spoken Unspoken! Who knows when I'll see him again? But this we do not mention. We only say "Baruch Hashem Yom Yom" And with that We speak The unspeakable My past is there Standing in the doorway In his uniform, His wife and children waiting for him In the car below And we are saying The simplest of goodbyes - "Shalom", "Lehitraoth "
Learn more about the author Grace Hollander This material is ©1998 by Grace Hollander 3 Keren Haysod st,Ramat Ilan, Givat Shmuel, Israel 51905 Permission to distribute this material, with this notice is granted - with
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