"so this is goodbye"
by Therese Padilla Abonales


after the thousands of minutes and hours and days
of endless talk, tears, and laughter,
of summer and winter visits,
of i love you's and i miss you's

in bed
on the table
on the phone

defying friends' and foes' word on this impending end,
believing that distance is a homeless beggar in our minds,
feeling each other's skin, hearing each other's heartbeat
despite the thousands of miles between us.

this.

seeing you pack your things for Vancouver
then carrying your luggage through the gates
of Incheon Gonghang.

everything is clear to me.
here. in my mind.
as i sit in my room,
in Xiamen.

after everything, this is all i have.
a picture of your leaving in my mind.

(Therese Padilla Abonales is an Iliganon who teaches in Jimei University, Xiamen, China. She was a fellow to the 4th Iligan National Writers Workshop and the 28th UP National Writers Workshop. This poem is published in MindaNews.com)