i am such a big fan
of the irish goodbye

maybe because i was raised on the midwest goodbye
of saying you’re leaving
and three hours later still chatting in the kitchen
and i feel weird being the center of attention for a departure
knowing the party [or event] will go on without me

i’d rather leave with an air of mystery

have people continue to talk about me

i am more present in the room in an irish goodbye
than if i were to stay and stay and stay

[and, goodbyes are hard for me anyway — saving up all emotions
for one moment at the end of an event?
i’d rather just tell people how much i love them at any given time
randomly
throughout,
show my appreciation when appreciation appears/
never leave things unsaid until the end

because you never know when people just need to
disappear]