When I’m Gone

Kamau Nosakhere || Fall 2024

When I’m gone
Don’t cry at my absence
Just hug tight and hold close
All of me that is left with you

As my light fades
I pray
Will you laugh with me?
Will you dance around me
A dwindling body
As I return to whence I came

I don’t believe in a soul
But if there is one
It’s not mine to own
The non physical me
Is what I will leave
With you

I wish to amend what I said before
Do not restrain your tears
Let them pour
If it will make you happy
You may cry for me

Just know
That always
I am dancing in the street
I’m eating blackberries
I’m stalking lizards
I’m getting excited reading comic books
I’m spinning round and round until my stomach backflips
I’m hugging you
I’m kissing someone
I am staring into the stars out of your eyes

The world is the me I have left behind
Love it please
If only for me