Saying Good Bye | Muller’s Poem Good Night
Saying goodbye is never easy. Wilhelm Muller captured the difficulty of saying goodbye to someone you love in his poem “Good Night”. The power of love and the struggle to say anything that makes leaving okay is so hard. The poem is not a straight-forward account of the passing of someone but it captures the same yearning and pain of the loss.
What I find intriguing about the poem is that he still writes something, just two words in an effort to wrap up everything we want to say when we must part. The power of words is amazing; being able to write down something that lasts can have a powerful impact on the healing process. This can be words on a gate, as in Muller’s poem, or a thorough online obituary, that expresses the pain, love and laughter you shared. Either way, the words help us deal with our loss and help us look toward a future.
Good Night
by Wilhelm MullerI came as a stranger; as a stranger now I leave. The flowers of May once
welcomed me warmly; a young girl spoke of love, her mother even of marriage.
Now all is bleak–the pathway covered with snow.
The time of departure is not mine to choose; I must find my way alone in
this darkness. With the shadow of the moon at my side, I search for traces of
wildlife in the white snow.
Why should I linger and give them reason to send me away? Let stray hounds
howl outside their master’s house. Love likes to wander from one to another,
as if God willed it so. My darling, farewell.
A quiet step, a careful shutting of the door so your sleep is not disturbed,
and two words written on the gate as I leave, “Good night,” to let you know I
thought of you.
