Goodbye is a Song

If I squint,

I can see beyond

the wind and the rain

the gusts whipping water and earth

to the gulch and the mountain

equally saturated

and

eroding to truth.

— —

goodbye

is a flood.

fluid natural disaster

a wave that is permanently

crashing

and receding

stripping every coastline

with inevitable tides.

— —

I saw a freshwater creek

filled with glittering treasures

run into the salt Pacific,

her reunion with Mother

a joyful end.

— —

I saw redwoods

more ancient than my ancestors

upended

split in half

and sinking

into the mist and moss.

— —

I saw dust swirl in the air

and die