Goodbye
Nokyoung Xayasane

I’ll say goodbye
to the skyline first
the buildings of glass and steel
the square orange lights
in all the windows
lit up at night

I’ll say goodbye
to the streetcars next
the happy drivers
and muggy morning commute

farewell to the grocery store lineups
and the sound of children’s laughter
the heat from an open vent
and that first morning’s light

but most of all
I’ll say goodbye
to that feeling
that feeling
of a thousand stars exploding
in the sky
as I walk down a street
and enter a crowd
a nameless person
who was once full
of possibility