After You Die
I will wonder and hope you knew you were beloved. I will wonder when we last hugged and whether you felt how our heartbeats converged...
Marva Lee Weigelt
5/6/20251 min read
“AFTER YOU DIE
Just so you know after you die
I will not wonder why you didn’t do
your dishes or how long it’s been
since you cleaned your oven or
microwave or mopped your floors
or why there were dust bunnies under
the bed and behind the door
After you’re gone I will not wonder
how you could have allowed the
piles of old mail to accumulate or
why you saved so many bits and pieces
of this and that or why you weren’t
more goal-oriented and well-organized
or why your refrigerator contained
so many expired condiments
When you are absent from all your
familiar places I vow to avoid wondering
why you didn’t eat less and exercise more
or why you waited so long to stop smoking
or drinking or whatever else was
simultaneously soothing and deadly or
why you took whatever risk may
seem to have hastened your exit
or why you left so much
unsaid unfinished or unresolved
I will only wonder if you knew how much
you mattered to me just as you are
as you were when we met in our temporary
human disguises and laughed in the
dressing room of the world at how funkily
our skin suits fit at times
I will wonder and hope
you knew you were beloved
I will wonder when we last hugged
and whether you felt how our
heartbeats converged and
our bellies bumped like boats
and then we both sighed"
~ Marva Lee Weigelt
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Acknowledgement of Country
In the spirit of reconciliation, Kate Leotta from Swan Song Journey acknowledges First Nations People, the Traditional Custodians of the lands in South East Qld (and beyond) on which I live and work. I honour their deep, enduring connections to land, sea, and community.
From my heart, I pay my respects to Elders past, present, and emerging, and to all the families who hold the stories, wisdom, and strength of culture—Grandparents, Mums and Dads, Aunties, Uncles, Cousins, Nieces, Nephews, and Kin. I recognise and stand in solidarity with Brotherboys, Sistergirls, and all members of the LGBTQIA+ community and the FPDN within First Nations cultures.
Sovereignty was never ceded—this always was, and always will be, First Nations People's land.