A Farewell to Tom

A Farewell To Tom

It shouldn’t be today, no not today

When, just like that, you slipped away

A final wink of the setting sun

Too quick, too sudden to be all done

Maybe twenty years from now or more

When growing older had become a chore

After having had our full share of talks and laughter

And prolonged guesswork of what comes hereafter

Then, it might’ve been easier for our ways to part

I would not have felt such a burdened heart

But not now, my friend, no not today

When, just like that, you slipped away

No time to pause, to bid farewells

You’re off to where the starlight dwells

Out the door, into the darkening sky

There you go, flying far and high

In a world turning not so gradually mad

Your leaving becomes that much more sad

Since all too few are left behind, far too few

Who carry the goodness that lived in you

I will miss your mischievous, quick-witted way

And how your sly grin reveals your mind at play

How the compassion ingrained upon your face

Chastises the world to become a better place

Surely, dear friend, I will see you again someday soon

Perhaps riding on a comet’s tail, circling round the moon

Or in the birdsong drifting by on the morning breeze

I will recognize you, transformed into all of these

And twenty years from now or more

When growing older has become a chore

Your playful smile and gentle kindness, I’m sure to find

Will still remain, residing peacefully in my mind