From Where I come

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 breastm ilk   let them ask who? If ever my name came up. Amu Mawutoh ,   7/08/2023  

There is no easy way to receive news of loss nor convey it. It could feel like a jab at your heart when the loss hits closer.  When my father's brother died,  the news was shocking,  unexpected, (not that anyone expects anyone to die, unless of course circumstances of age and grave illness are at play) and painful for me. My hands went to my chest as if to console my heart. This uncle was the easy-to-flow-with type,  always with a smile to give and a positive vibe around him. With the covid-19 situation from last year and years of not being in touch with him because he was occupied with work - always travelling, I heard - I had not seen him or spoken to him in ages. I just felt he was too young to die. But who is death ever giving prior notice to?  I scribbled what I felt, how I felt about such a man bringing his life journey to an end. I titled it Holding Hope. My faith makes me look at death as no end,  only a start of a more peaceful life than life on ea...