An Unexpected Ending

The End

did not come 

with a big bang, 

a loud clanging, or alarms sounding. 

It did not come with exclamations,

was not followed by echoes of indignation. 

The End 

did not come 

with tornadic force

did not take 

a dramatic course. 

It did not fill you up with rage;

you did not cry out, react or engage

in theatrics as you might have expected. 

It came quietly and slowly,

was punctuated only with two last cups

of coffee touching, like two purring cats,

with quiet murmurings of mutual understanding, 

with long pauses and silent looks held too long. 

It came like the very slow dwindling

of a favorite sad song. 

And then it was over,

and the two cups were one again;

not a multiplication, but subtraction and division.

And it was quiet.

And it was (almost, nearly) okay.

And it was very simply, just

The End.