What? Poem by Matthew Edan Oliver Palma

What does one say when another bids goodbye?
So long? Farewell? Perhaps a question Why?

What does one feel when another leaves for real?
Petrified? Afraid? Perhaps “I love you still”?

What does one think when another falls too weak?
Hold on? Be strong? Words too empty to stick?

What does one do when another grows apart?
Move on? Let go? A phrase that tricks the heart?

What does one hear in the silence that remains?
His anguish? His fears? Fading memories the heart retains?