Hopes for After Death
How I hope to be buried
When I die,
I wish you would bury me
Somewhere in the yard
Behind the house we called our home.
I wish you would wrap my body
In the quilt my mother brought me home in
Just the way we buried the cat.
I wish you would paint stones
And lay them over my grave
To mark my place in the stillness of things.
I wish, in death, to be consumed
By all the things that nourished me in life.
By the miner’s lettuce and lemon clover
That my brother and I chewed on
When we were still children playing in the woods.
By the wildflowers that adorned my hair
As I grew older.
By the dirt and earth that cradled me
When I rested outside in the spring.
I wish for my hair to lie in the ground
Like the roots of old oak trees
That stretch their tendrils deeper and deeper
Into the earth in search of
Everything.
And when you die,
I wish they would bury you beside me
So that I may share my death with you,
And show you all the ways I have come to know stillness.
About the Creator
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Eye opening
Niche topic & fresh perspectives
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Comments (1)
Breathtakingly beautiful!