Goodbye' Is a Temporary Word Poem by Shuntaro Tanikawa

Having parted with the evening glow
I meet with night.
But the angrier red clouds go nowhere
and just hide in darkness.

I don't say goodnight to the stars
for they always hide in daylight
The baby I once was yet remains
in the center of my growth rings.

No one ever, I think, vanishes.
My dead grandfather grows like wings on my shoulders.
He takes me to places outside of time
along with seeds left by dead flowers.

‘Good-bye' is a temporary word.
There are some things that bind us together
far deeper than remembrance and memory.
If you believe that, you needn't look for it.