Saying Goodbye

When what might be a final conversation is only one way

Grace under extreme pressure:
she can barely stand,
but she did
and she sang her favorite hymn
although a complete sentence
was all but impossible.

Associated more, perhaps,
with a voice usually heard over the phone,
yesterday, I was a total stranger.
She looked at me with a blankness:
favorite shared vital connections
were wiped clean.

Chord cut mid-note, silenced.
You can't say goodbye
when no one is there.