Poetry by Nancy Machlis Rechtman
I don’t want to die
Alone on a bare floor
And have a stranger come upon my body
Lifeless with eyes wide open
Wondering why no one was there
To say goodbye.
And I don’t want my soul to hover
Watching those I loved wracked with grief
Saying all the things I longed to hear
When it would have meant something
But it’s too late
Like missing a plane
Or a train
Because you forgot your ticket
But instead, you forgot your words.
Don’t bury me in the cold, hard ground
Where gravediggers struggle to make headway
Their shovels slamming into earth like steel
That refuses to yield space for a wooden box
Where visitors might feel obliged to stop by once a year
To shed a few tears
And dust off a headstone
And maybe leave some flowers that will soon wither and die.
But instead, scatter my ashes by the ocean where I’m home
Where the waves lap gently at the sand
And the sun warms the soul
Where I can drink in the life that I’ve left
And no longer feel alone.
I will be there in your dreams
You’ll hear me in the wind
And maybe if you think of me
You’ll find I’m in your heart.
Nancy Machlis Rechtman has had poetry and short stories published in Paper Dragon, The Thieving Magpie, Quail Bell, Goat’s Milk, and more. She wrote freelance Lifestyle stories for a local newspaper and was the copy editor for another local paper. She currently writes a blog called Inanities at https://nancywriteon.wordpress.com.
