No Long Goodbyes Poem by Paul Brookes

leaving is and was hard you said.
no long goodbyes, farewells, see you laters
there would be no laters or afters.

pillows swallowed tears
soaked lachrymall sponges
air stiff with stifled sobs but the space
your space was and is an empty space.

your side of the bed lies cold
and my arms wrap around air.
teddies no substitute.
silence marks absence and loss
the clock ticks loud, you were there
then gone between seconds, a heart beat.

space marks your empty chair
somehow you forgot to say goodbye.