GOODBYE
London. Small well furnished flat. Man and woman seated at table on which are the remains of a meticulously prepared meal – only partially eaten.
Man speaks after a long silence.
M – Well, I suppose I’d better go.
W – I think so.
M – It needn’t end like this, you know.
W – I know, but this is the only way it can be.
M – You could still come with me.
W – Look, we’ve been over and over this for the past year – for the last three months we’ve talked about little else.
M – Well that’s because you can’t see my side of it.
W –I do, I do. You want me to go with you. To a place where you have family, friends, speak the language – yes, I know it’s still English, but it’s not the same….
M – Oh come on, you’ve been there, you enjoyed the holiday, liked my family.
W – Yes, I know – even liked some of your friends – not Liz, I admit (and it wasn’t jealousy about your mutual past, either). The point is, I wouldn’t be able to find work in my field and none of your friends would be mine.
M – Well what’s the matter with that? They’d accept you and become ours with time.
W – Quite apart from anything else, friendship’s more than just acceptance (which incidentally most of your friends do very well) – it’s about a shared history, experiences at different life stages, understandings beyond words.
M – There’s other things…
W – Such as? The weather? And what else? I live in the centre here – access to life, galleries, theatre. There all we could afford would be some grotty suburb with the height of excitement a trip to the local glitzy shopping mall.
PAUSE
M –You know, a couple of years ago I’d have said I’d found my life after so long alone – the woman I wanted to settle down, have kids with.
W –Oh not again! I always made it clear. You know I’ve left my run too late – and I’m not going to sign up for all that technology…… look, please go – I wanted this to be a wonderful last evening, no bitterness – in memory of all the good times we’ve had - and now we’re just repeating the same old arguments…
M – I’m sorry – it’s all too painful…
Alright, I need to get up, walk through that door, let myself out and not turn round….
I need to do it ……now…..’Bye
W – ‘Bye.
Hope springs eternal…
‘Hope springs eternal in the human breast.’
Well said Mr. Pope – but what of the rest?
Both of our hearts had given of their best,
But time moved on and we had failed the test.
I lived in London where we met and loved;
Given the closeness I had always craved.
I Had a new life – felt I had arrived,
But come the end I was to be deprived.
A relationship of five years standing
Was at this time to amount to nothing.
Destructive thoughts borne of my suffering
For the moment displaced all our caring.
But I’d wanted kids – more than just a mate;
She always claimed it was by now too late.
I was in no position to dictate -
With me she wanted none at any rate.
At that time my prospects were not secure;
The current job did nothing to ensure
My freedom from the blues, a lasting cure,
The uncertainty too much to endure.
Such factors were all reasons for my flight;
In Australia family bonds drew tight.
“Come with me” I had asked - until that night
I had hoped often she would see the light.
To leave her home was more than she could bear
Theatre , galleries, work; this was where
Her identity was tied and so there
It was to be ‘the end of the affair’.
After all this you think you know the rest…
But there is more to this than you have guessed -
For our connection has survived time’s test;
Thirty years on and trips back still exist…
Dave: Mar’14