She told him what had kept her away was Death. But he rejected that excuse—for Death, he said, can never come between lovers.
—Mahfouz, Naguib. The Dreams—Dream #104. 113 Sharia Kasr el Aini, Cairo, Egypt: American University of Cairo Press, 2000
The Crushing Weight Of Good Bye
I never thought the last time we said,
“Good bye,” would be the last time.
If I had known, I would have done it differently.
I would have said to you one more time,
“I love you.” Though I told you all the time,
this time would have been different— if I had known.
Our last embrace would have been much
tighter and a lot longer. Our last kiss,
more than just a brief touching of lips.
It would have been a most soulful kiss.
The kind that made you tingle with anticipation.
The last time we made love would not have been
so rushed by flight schedules and other lives—
If I had known it would be the last time
I would look into your liquid blue eyes,
I would have searched more deeply for reassurance
that you were coming back to me.
I would have made sure we had enough time
to complete the book I was reading to you.
If I had known it would be the last time
I would touch you, I would have defied the Lords
of Life and Death, the very fates themselves
would be unraveling the threads of death they weave.
For, if I had known it would be the last time I would
ever see you, I would never have said, “Good bye.”