Departures

Departures

If I must go

(and they say I must)

let me go with

laughter

bubbling round me,

with remembered good times

and inside jokes reverberating

through the room.

Drown out the medical beeps and burbles;

and camouflage institutional walls

with bright chatter

and brighter visions of who we were,

who we are, and

how much more we can be.

Let me slip away

in the midst of the party,

before the drinks run low and the talk

gets serious.

But remember this--

no matter where I go, or when--

let it be with your smiles,

your faces, your words,

your laughter

always by my side:

the best of all companions

on whatever journey.