Last Goodbye

She came to Sri Lanka in last December
it was her first visit here
she was only 10 months old
she is my grand daughter

she spent only a week with us
during that time she took to our hearts
with her playfulness and dances
her baby talk and cries

I called her "pattie"
Sinhala form for "the small one"
I used to show her Squirrels, birds, cats and fish
She watched them with fascinating eyes

on her first Christmas day
we took her to midnight mass
to a nearby small church
dressing her as a doll

she was captivated by
the lights and decorations
colorful suits and sarees
worn by people there

we took her to the crib
she bent down and
took an angel in her hand
gave it a hug as she would hug me

at the end of December
they were packing to go back to their country
everybody went to airport to drop the trio
I parked the vehicle and returned to the terminal

as soon as pattie saw me
she put her hands around me
and hugged me as if to say
last goodbye