A shot rang out like lightning out of a gun
Goodbye to the land where the sun always shine,
to the blue sky that always is bright,
goodbye to the light that comes every day
and hello to that midnight which is cold and dark.
A shot rang out like lightning out of a gun
fading the sun while white vapour rose
out of a shot out armoured car,
I couldn’t close my eyes or look away.
Goodbye to that enemy tank stopped in its tracks
against a bank of earth
while my armoured car’s gun rang out
sending a phosphorus shell with fire from hell.
A rocket flew past with a flaming tail
like a star falling from the sky
before exploding against a tree with a blast
and goodbye to the enemy soldiers who fired it
while we moved past at speed
with a machinegun howling a great cry.
I heard that enemy commander weeping over the radio
while his frequencies were blocked
being in shock
and sounding like the voices of many men
crying in the anguish of death
as if a deadly net had been cast
and I wish that I could understand Spanish
but the noise was ear-splitting
and it was goodbye to tank after tank
and goodbye with blast after blast and going in quick
stopping, firing and running away fast
and every enemy armoured car we found
only got one shot
till the last shell had being fired
and tired we went to fetch some more,
ate in a hurry before being wished good luck
and going back to war.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Related quotes
Forever young
I saw boys driving away to war
in a Ratel-90 armoured car
and they were well trained,
ready for action
and called up for military service
against their will.
Two smiled and a few
waved goodbye
and there was dirt
in my eyes,
when my armoured car
caught speed.
Enemy battle tanks were everywhere
and we fought right through the night
and with first light
an armoured car was stuck
in a mine field
and they were hoping for the best
but the worst was there
and shot out they paid the cost.
Although the enemy
paid a much higher price
and lost,
it’s like yesterday that they
waved goodbye
and sacrificed in vain
their lives for people
that does not honour them
and remain forever young.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The havoc of war
a Smoking and burning
enemy battle tank
stands stopped in its tracks,
like a metal coffin
with its occupants
still hatched in.
a BRDM enemy armoured car
is encased by leaping flames
and the phosphoric burning smell
is churning in my guts.
Some dead Cuban soldiers lay
cut from the stem
mangled in blood and guts
and the machinegun is still chattering
and I wish to be,
in another place and time
than to be a part
of this slaughtering.
a Bleating Gemsbok rushes past
trying to outrun the flames,
that leap through the field
while the machines of war
brings death to the living.
Shot after shot is fired
at killing range
and it’s hot and deafening
inside the Ratel,
but the wind
brushes through my hair
where I stand
in the top hatch
and trees and bushes
sweep past
as if screened in a movie house.
Enemy armour keeps exploding
and my voice sounds strange
and unfamiliar to me,
while I give directions
for the next killing.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Somewhere Near The Lomba River
The guns of enemy tanks are flashing
like bolts of thunder while I am glancing,
the night air is full of the smell of cordite
and luckily those shots are passing
while the armoured car draws to a sudden halt
for its gun to take aim and on my lips I taste salt
before the armour piercing shell is fired
and at a direct hit around me the crew exalt
before at speed we move on
and some more enemy Cuban soldiers are gone,
are burnt in the fiery hell
while my heart, my brain feels like stone.
An enemy shell strikes another armoured car
like a exploding flaming star
and I can smell torched human flesh,
while I wish to be away very far,
to be away from killing
and this chilling
kind of machination of machines and men
who at each other are firing
but to survive we battle on right through the night,
are still trying to find some more enemies in the broad daylight,
find two abounded stationary pristine enemy battle tanks
from which the enemy had run in fright.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The night is full of brown Ratel armoured cars
The night is full of brown Ratel armoured cars
and Olifant tanks
that drives and rolls in on the ground
and salvos from rocket launching trucks
that draws arcs
and in the distance howitzer canon reports
in volleys
and when a light flare suddenly falls
it is as if the bushes are teeming
with enemy tanks and armoured cars
just where I look
and it looks
like the day of judgement.
Projectiles find their targets
and canister-shot comes down exploding thundering
and it’s an apocalyptic night
for some of the enemy
who are burning,
scorched and blown to smithereens in their armour
and when a tank
suddenly appears out of the bushes
there is a hell of a red thunderclap
as a shot from another Ratel hits it deadly
and I realize that even here
a person’s time is measured out
and around me there are fireworks
like stars falling from the sky
while we stop and aim
the following killing shot.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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The road ahead dissolved into dust
The road ahead dissolved into dust
and we could not see the track
nor any of the other fighting vehicles
consisting out of Olifant main battle tanks
and Ratel armoured cars that were ahead of us.
Bushes were covering the veldt
on all sides and around us,
the early morning fog
had drifted over from the river
and worse still tried to cover things
and in the distance I heard the cannon
of a enemy tank blasting off a projectile
and almost felt the impact hitting us,
but it shrieked past
and at speed we left the track
rammed through some bushes
and the Ratel-90 armoured car
draw to a halt
and our return shot
found its mark
and we had to take another one
to make dead sure
of the destruction
of the Russian manufactured T-55 tank
before speeding away
trying to avoid being hit
and found another target
and one more and another after that
and later even filling the night
with bright flashing canon flame,
sending death out with projectiles
to whichever enemy that we found.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Cassinga
Just like spring when the blue sky is full of falling leaves,
there are three hundred and seventy parachutes that decent,
on a ominous day
with enemy AA-guns reporting
and the enemy are more
than a thousand and a half in number.
The barrels of the enemy AA-guns are lowered,
to break us
and the enemy tries to sow havoc
and to decimate us.
Enemy snipers are shooting from trees
and from everywhere
there are shots being fired,
that munches pieces from us
From behind ruins
we fire almost endlessly
at trenches where some enemy soldiers hide
and launch mortar bombs
all over the place,
while bullets are coming down like rain.
We return heavy fire
to the enemy at the AA-guns,
while other soldiers replace them
which keeps the battle hanging in balance
Shot after shot are being fired
and the smell of death
is strong in the air
and there’s nowhere
for the enemy to escape to.
The last resistance disappears
and there’s apparent peace
and dead enemies everywhere
and some of the bats,
get into pumas
and the rest of us wait
with nowhere to go.
The border is too far to walk
and there’s nothing to drive away with,
when Cuban tanks and armoured cars
find us there.
.
With RPG-7 iron fists
four tanks are destroyed
and a landmine stops another tank in its tracks,
but only paratroops against oncoming armour
are canon feed
and nothing diminishes the danger
of a Cuban mechanized battalion.
Till two Mirages destroys ten armoured cars
and everywhere there’s smoke and dust
and a Buccaneer comes from the sun,
to let moments turn into eternity.
Time after time
it flashes by and fires its rockets
at the oncoming tanks
and with no ammo left,
dives fearlessly over shooting AA-guns
to make the tanks take cover.
It’s very ruff going
but the last pumas land
in a clouds of dust,
to evacuate us
while enemy tanks keep firing.
I try and hold the rearguard with a LMG
before the shot out ruins fades away from me
and we leave forty living enemies behind
and all of us are safely gone,
but for four brave men
whose lives are spent.
[References: AA-guns=> Anti aircraft guns. Bats=>Parabats=>Airbourne soldiers. RPG-7 iron fists=> Rocket propelled grenade launchers=> Bazookas. Mirages=> Mirage fighter jets. Buccaneer=> Buccaneer ground support bomber. Pumas=> Puma helicopters. LMG=> Light machinegun.]
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Never Can Say Goodbye
I never can say goodbye
No, no, no i, I never can say goodbye
Every time I think Ive had enough
And start heading for the door
Theres a very strange vibration
Kissing me right to the core or pericing me right to the core
It says turn around you fool,
You know you love him more
And more
Tell me why is it so?
Dont wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye boy
Ooh ooh baby I never can say goodbye
No no no no no no
Ooh hey I never can say goodbye, boy
Ooh ooh baby
I never can say goodbye
[no no no no no no] hey
I never can say goodbye [never say goodbye, boy]
Oh no, no, no i, I never can say goodbye
[never say goodbye, boy]
I keep thinking that our problems soon are all gonna work
Out
But theres that same unhappy feeling,
Theres that anguish, theres that doubt
Its that same old dizzy hangup
I cant do with you or without or youve had with you all your life
Tell me why is it so? I dont wanna let you go
I never can say goodbye boy, ooh baby
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
Hey I never can say goodbye boy,ooh baby
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
I never can say goodbye, boy,
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
I never can say goodbye, boy
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
[never can say goodbye, boy]
[never can say goodbye, boy]
I never can say goodbye, boy
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
I never can say goodbye, boy
I never can say goodbye, no no no no no no
Ooh ooh ooh hey I never can say goodbye, boy
No no no baby hey never can say goodbye
No no no no please, dont make me say goodbye
Hey I will never say goodbye, no baby
Oh please dont leave me, no no no no
Hey oh I cant say goodbye, boy
No no no baby
Oh please dont oooh, baby
song performed by by Gloria Gaynor
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Never Say Goodbye
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
You say tomorrow's another day,
All i know is we're here today.
I've got nightmares i could never share with you,
The kind that keeps me up all night.
So hold me tight till the room is light
And tell me that it's all right.
(oh-oh-oh-oh-oh - oh-oh-oh)
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
We may go our separate ways some day,
But we know we shared our dreams today.
I've got nightmares i would never wish on you,
The kind that keeps me down all day.
So hold me tight till the sky is light
And tell me that it's all right.
(oh-oh-oh-oh-oh - oh-oh-oh)
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye.
Yoko!!
(it's getting light)
Mummy, mummy.
(oh-oh-oh-oh-oh - oh-oh-oh)
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never)
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Never Say Goodbye
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
You say tomorrow's another day,
All i know is we're here today.
I've got nightmares i could never share with you,
The kind that keeps me up all night.
So hold me tight till the room is light
And tell me that it's all right.
(oh-oh-oh-oh-oh - oh-oh-oh)
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
We may go our separate ways some day,
But we know we shared our dreams today.
I've got nightmares i would never wish on you,
The kind that keeps me down all day.
So hold me tight till the sky is light
And tell me that it's all right.
(oh-oh-oh-oh-oh - oh-oh-oh)
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye.
Yoko!!
(it's getting light)
Mummy, mummy.
(oh-oh-oh-oh-oh - oh-oh-oh)
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never say) goodbye,
Never say goodbye,
(never)
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Goodbye-goodbye
Oh, I know something
About the ways of loving
And I tell you, baby,
That somethings wrong
Look to the sky above and the mud below
Something drives me crazy, got to got to get away
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!
Without a doubt, Im telling you Im burnt out
My tank is running on empty for far too long
Woah! I need fuel cause Im getting so low
Something drives me crazy, got to, got to get away
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!
I need fuel, just the kind you give me
Makes me feel so bad
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!
I cant believe
Im still around
Its getting kinda late
Gonna leave
For a change of scenery
Im going crazy
Its not the same
Since youve been around
Im crazy, so crazy
You treat me like a dirty clown
Youre always kickin my dog around
I never get nothin but constant abuse from you
You couldnt care less what I think, or my point of view
Youre always puttin the make on my friends, always giving
Them eyes and the dirty lies bout me and you, well im
Through, its the end of the line for you babe, heres a
Ticket one way cincinnati, Im sendin you home to your ma
And your daddy, so dont try to call me, youll only be wastin your
Time!
Oh, I know something
About the ways of loving
And I tell you, baby,
That somethings wrong
Look to the sky above and the mud below
Something drives me crazy, got to got to get away
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye!
song performed by by Oingo Boingo
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Why?
If I could paint
I would paint a portrait
of a shot out Ratel armoured car
standing in a landmine field.
Out of which the smoke still rises
And I would print in defencelessness
with every brush stroke
of armoured steel failing
against projectiles
and then becoming a coffin
and enemy soldiers standing grinning
with teeth brilliant white
and bones of fallen comrades
that tried to stop a horde of barbarians
and hyenas and jackals standing drooling
and vultures turning in the sky
and in the background till the horizon
enemy tanks, armoured cars
and men would lay shot to pieces
with pools of blood, intestines
and shot of legs and hands
and the title would be: Why?
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Hello, Goodbye
You say yes, i say no.
You say stop and i say go go go, oh no.
You say goodbye and i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello.
I say high, you say low.
You say why and i say i don't know, oh no.
You say goodbye and i say hello
Hello goodbye hello goodbye hello hello
Hello goodbye i don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello
Hello goodbye hello goodbye hello hello
Hello goodbye i don't know why you say goodbye
Hello goodbye i say goodbye.
Why why why why why why do you say goodbye goodbye, oh no?
You say goodbye and i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello.
You say yes i say yes i say no but i may mean no.
You say stop i can stay and i say go go go till it's time to go oh, oh no.
You say goodbye and i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say goodbye
Hello hello
I don't know why you say goodbye, i say hello hello.
Hela heba helloa cha cha, hela...
song performed by by Beatles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Goodbye
Goodbye, mrs. sorrow
Hope youre feelin better tomorrow night
Dont put up a fight
Itll do you no good
Hello, uncle freedom
Ive seen them down on their knees for you
Nothing they wouldnt do
To have you along
I got too many problems
They just dont understand
They think their every wish is my command
Oh, no, sister susie
Youre in a win or lose affair
Wish I could be there
To help you along
Oh, yes, brother michael
We all have every faith in you
And everything you do
All the way round
I got too many problems
They just dont understand
They think their every wish is my command
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
Goodbye, goodbye
song performed by by America
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The old savage dream again was back
The old savage dream again was back
of enemy tanks coming down the track,
useless the light machinegun was stuttering
as exploding shells made both my ears sing
while I could find no kind of escape,
events caught speed like a winding video tape,
I was firing from the hip without effect
had no ready rocket launcher to select,
heard the nearing enemy tank tracks groan,
while my limbs were slow, turning to stone;
from the blue sky a screeching eagle fell,
death was in its claws, triumph in its yell,
while it dropped scorching deadly flame,
heroic returning under fire to do the same.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Theres No Goodbye
Made up my mind to say goodbye,
Went to the park for the last time.
But when I saw your eyes,
I knew for the first time,
That theres no goodbye between us.
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye between us.
If one day we slip away,
And that may be in the cards,
We will know deep in our hearts
That theres no goodbye between us.
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye between us.
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye,
Theres no goodbye between us.
song performed by by Yoko Ono
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Goodbuy (Paul McCartney)
Please don't wake me up too late.
Tomorrow comes and I will not be late.
Late today when it becomes
Tomorrow I
Will leave and go away.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
My love, goodbye.
Songs that linger on my lips
Excite me now and linger on my mind.
Leave your flowers at my door;
I leave them for
The one who waits behind.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
My love, goodbye.
(ad lib)
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
My love, goodbye.
Far away my lover sings
A lonely song and calls me to his side
Where the sound of lonely drums
Invited me on.
I must be by his side.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
Goodbye. Goodbye.
My love, goodbye.
Goodbye.
Ah, ha, ha, hi.
Goodbye
song performed by by Beatles
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Had found its mark
The night I saw you die
under a star struck cross
against the night sky
near the end of the age
your eyes were flaming with rage
as if that fire could leap
and set the night alight
and howitzer guns roared
sending their disciples
with thundering flame
across many miles
to convert with death and blood
and as fast as the enemy came
flooding the bush, the veldt
with armoured chariots
exploding shells, rocket bombs
and projectiles
decimated them
as if the inferno in your eyes
had found its mark
turning every enemy ablaze.
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Goodbye Again
I'm on the outside, looking in
What do I see?
So much of this left to begin
Where would I be?
I'm on the outside, looking in
Cover me through this night
Guess I don't know what's, left to say
But hear me out
All of the dreams of, yesterday
Keep breaking me down
What's on the outside, can you say
Or am I getting carried away
It's in your mind
It's in your eyes
So it's goodbye again
It's way past time
For one last try
So it's goodbye again
Goodbye... again
I'm getting on, what's the use
You know how I get
I can't decide which is the truth
At least not yet
I got the feeling, it's you
What can be said, alone in this room
No...
It's in your mind
It's in your eyes
So it's goodbye again
It's way past time
For one last try
Who wants you now?
Maybe somebody else
I'll wait around
Maybe you'll forget you were ever here
Maybe forget you were ever, never here
I'm on the outside, looking down
What do I see?
So much of this cold, in the ground
Where would i be?
On the outside, looking down
Cover me before you go
It's in your mind
It's in your eyes
So it's goodbye again
It's way past time
For one last try
So it's goodbye again
Your falling out,
I'm falling in
So it's goodbye again
It's way past time
For one last try
So it's goodbye... again
So it's goodbye again
song performed by by Vertical Horizon
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A woman unconscious
The enemy were almost at the door,
coming with tanks, armoured cars,
rocket launching trucks,
helicopter gunship, fighter jets,
with supporting Cuban troops
under Russian command
and day after day
I prayed for it to end,
for the killing of them, to stop,
where my Ratel armoured car
send tank after tank and many more armoured cars
with phosphorous shells
straight to hell
and by calamity the future changed,
turned into a different world,
changed from the one
scared of them, dropping the annihilating bomb
of millions of people being killed and dead
and at home, the welcoming did not come
at my return
and your were not there,
were killed in a car accident instead,
were for a time unconscious
in a white hospital bed
and the evidence of how cruel
the world can be
still walks with me,
while life goes on.
[Reference: A woman unconscious by Ted Hughes.]
poem by Gert Strydom
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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ACT: Goodbye
Girl: Goodbye
I always want to say it in front of you
Goodbye
And there would be no more “I love you”
Goodbye
But why though I really meant to
The pain is still haunting my soul
Guy: Goodbye
You don’t know there’s a mystery inside
Goodbye
You are a fool to quickly decide
Goodbye
When you say something you don’t want to
It will affect you most with regret
Girl: Goodbye means leaving
Guy: Goodbye means nothing
Girl: Goodbye means releasing
Guy: Goodbye means waiting
Girl: And will you forget me after
Guy: Or will I love you forever
Girl: And how if I miss you in the lonely night
Guy: I will torture you to see my face
Girl: It’s over!
Guy: Not yet
Girl: Why are you so stubborn?
Guy: Because you make it complicated
Girl: But there’s no future for us
Guy: There’s always a hope
Girl: Goodbye
I will definitely cry
Goodbye
But the tears are not going to show
Goodbye
I don’t ask to be forgiven
Because I’m the one who put this misery
Guy: Goodbye
You can’t beat me with just that
Goodbye
Don’t judge me because I have the power of
Goodbye
Though I let my beloved go
Someday I’ll bring you to my arm again
Girl: Goodbye means separate
Guy: Goodbye means “I’ll be back”
Girl: Goodbye means finishing
Guy: Goodbye means praying
Girl: And will it make you think
Guy: That you are my precious one
Girl: And when I finally disappear
Guy: That’s the time I realize I’m lost
Girl: Just be a good boy!
Guy: Why should I?
Girl: So I can say farewell
Guy: I won’t let it
Girl: You will be hurt by me
Guy: I’ll hurt more if you leave me
Girl: Goodbye
I will act so rude and cold
Goodbye
You deserved so much better
Goodbye
It’s the easier way to be apart from you
Even it’s full of lie, of lie
Guy: Goodbye
How can I live without you?
Goodbye
I don’t care what other’s said
Goodbye
But you are running away from me
Denying your true feeling
Girl: Goodbye means not anymore
Guy: Goodbye means see you later
Girl: Goodbye means sad ending
Guy: Goodbye means new beginning
Girl: And did I say to you to move on?
Guy: Only you I couldn’t go on
Girl: And someway we have another chance
Guy: I promise that you won’t slip from my fingers
poem by Maria Sudibyo
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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