Painful though parting be, I bow to you as I see you off to distant clouds.

The speaker acknowledges the ache of separation (“Painful though parting be”) while choosing a posture of dignity and reverence (“I bow to you”). The image of “distant clouds” frames the departing person as moving beyond immediate reach—either literally traveling far away or figuratively passing into an uncertain, elevated realm. The line balances grief with restraint: rather than clinging, the speaker offers a formal farewell that honors the other’s path. Its emotional force comes from the tension between private sorrow and public composure, suggesting that love or loyalty can express itself through respectful letting-go as much as through lament.