Bronte Gallegos's poem follows a woman waiting on a couch for a man to arrive, knowing that something is ending. The opening lines, "That was it. / The end had come," set up a farewell, and the short, broken lines, with "Waiting / Watching," capture her nervous, helpless state. When he pulls up, she tries not to cry, and then runs to him anyway. The poem doesn't say why he is leaving, so the reader has to guess at the reason.
The mood shifts near the end. The repeated "She cried. He cried. They cried. Together." gives way to "She would rejoice. He would rejoice. They would rejoice." The pattern stays the same, but the feeling flips from grief to joy. The title, "There He Goes," sounds like a departure, yet the final line, "Their forever came," suggests the separation was temporary, or that a lasting reunion is coming. The poem moves from dread and sadness to quiet hope.