POEM - IF SOMEONE REMEMBERS

IF SOMEOME REMEMBERS

Dear God,

When I die,

I don’t want to be remembered

Unless it’s for

how loudly I laughed,

how wide my smile was

how deeply I loved

how messy my tears were

unless the thought of me reminds them

of the strength in faith

of the power in authenticity,

of the courage in trust

of the beauty in loss

that being kind isn’t foolishness

that heartbreak isn’t the end

that it’s okay to start over

that nothing in this world is ever ours

and ultimately,

unless my life was proof

that there is God in the broken and in the whole,

in the darkness and light,

when I die,

let me be forgotten,

let my birth month be erased

let the winds not carry my name to my father

like I never breathed the air of this world

like there wasn’t a time when I cried for breastmilk 

let them ask who? If ever my name came up.

Amu Mawutoh,  7/08/2023