The Last Gaze: i Think I Said Goodbye Poem by Sharon Namwalizi

I still failed to meet your gaze,
because then you would know my pain.
And I was scared—
that if our eyes met,
the goodbye would fall apart.

So I refrained.
I looked away,
not because I didn't care,
but because I cared too much
to stay.

I think I said goodbye.
I laid everything down today,
hoping that after this talk—
our last real conversation—
I won't return with the weight.

I liked how we were honest,
how loyal we stayed to the world,
even when it burned.

Because being selfish
should never be a choice.

We spoke so much
that my voice stopped sounding like mine—
it was ready to let go.
And I think I did.

I hope so.

Still, I cherished the innocence
of it all.
I hate how it was corrupted,
but I understand—
the outside world tends to do that,
to break an imaginary world of two.

But today,
after trying for so long,
I think I said goodbye.

~ sharonnamzi
22: 3-6/10/25