Goodbye

So we must say Goodbye, my darling,

And go, as lovers go, for ever;

Tonight remains, to pack and fix on labels

And make an end of lying down together.

I put a final shilling in the gas,

And watch you slip your dress below your knees

And lie so still I hear your rustling comb

Modulate the autumn in the trees.

And all the countless things I shall remember

Lay mummy-cloths of silence round my head;

I fill the carafe with a drink of water;

You say ‘We paid a guinea for this bed,’

And then, ‘We’ll leave some gas, a little warmth

For the next resident, and these dry flowers,’

And turn your face away, afraid to speak

The big word, that Eternity is ours.