Before Goodbye She Said | Leaving but not really

By Jaimee Boake

Before Goodbye She Said 

I will spend my forever painting you sunsets

so resplendent in their myriad of hues

that you’ll learn to dream in technicolor

planting tiny miracles to

sprout up through the cracked concrete

of your heart and bloom like hope

scattering stories among the stars

like glittering undeniable truth

praying

crying

screaming for you

to open your eyes far sooner than I did mine

Leaving but not really 

She walked into a meadow framed

by immense cedars

and firs –

a wall of vegetation.

The world was quiet

enough that she could hear

the soft kiss of butterfly wings on bright petals

a breeze whistling through blades of grass

gentle hum-buzz of bees saving it all

and she tucked the memory like leaves between

the pages of her heart

to carry until she was ready

to plant seeds of hope in her next city

Jaimee Boake is an Edmonton-based English, Creative Writing, and Leadership teacher. She loves playing board games, spending time with family (including the two adorable dogs) and is happiest, always, in the mountains. More of her work can be found in Lida Literary Magazine, Eve Poetry Magazine, Purple Fire Publication's Write Connection, Witches n Pink NaPoWriMo 2020 Anthology, Poets of Alberta Features, and on instagram @jaimeeannethology