The Understanding Part

by Doris Kerns Quinn

The part of me which understands
goes with you—
and so we never really say
goodbye.

The part of me which understands—
without warm glance or touch of hands
or clinging tie of temporal bands—
goes with you
far beyond the last,
regretful sigh.

The part of me which understands
remembers laughter,
forgets each sorrowful lie;
goes with you through the grainy sands
and through the distant, untried lands—
the part of me which understands
has never said
will never say
goodbye.

--published in Christian Living, 1968