This Is Not Goodbye

Life is made of moments
And days and years that fly.
This is the end of middle school,
But this is not goodbye.

This is a moment to hold gently,
Like a flawless diamond in your fist,
Like a perfect summer sunrise,
Like a fleeting ocean mist.

H. B. Whitehorne Middle School
Is made of more than bricks and glass.
You are the school. Even apart,
You were united as a class.

In truth, some days felt endless.
Your eyes ached from Chromebook screens.
You had to point your webcam at the ceiling,
So that your sadness wasn’t seen.

You learned at a young age
That Life’s a child who won’t play fair,
And Fate’s a thief of plans and dreams,
But Hope surrounds us, just like air.

Sometimes the grownups don’t have answers.
We’re all just trying to work it out.
But we are a team. You are the greatest.
And we couldn’t be more proud.

You believed and kept on fighting,
And that’s not an easy thing to do.
But you learned to keep on going.
You found the strength that lives in you.

We know your future will be bright.
Use your clever minds and loving hearts.
And if you’ve made a few mistakes,
Make this beginning your fresh start,

This is not goodbye,
It’s just a moment here in time,
Bound by friendship and by memories,
Our lives are forever intertwined.

So hold this moment gently,
And don’t be ashamed to cry.
Congratulations and best wishes!
We say “Good luck” but not “Goodbye.”

Jennifer Kleinknecht has been the media specialist at H.B. Whitehorne Middle School since 2007. She writes about life as a school librarian on her blog, “The ‘Yes’ Librarian”.

Photo by Ishan @seefromthesky on Unsplash