When someone dies,
don’t take down the funeral program
that your mother has hung in your room
in such a visible place
that every morning when you wake up
to another day
on this side of life
you have to look at it
and think of how many-
days-
weeks-
months-
years-
have passed since the last time
you looked the woman in that photo
in the eyes.
Don’t accidentally delete the last voice message
you recorded
of her singing that song
that you got so tired
of her singing.
You’ll be left with days
when you’re longing to hear
that voice,
that song,
the way she hit every note,
the last note
that trailed off
into some other place
that no one else
could see at the time-
but she felt.
Don’t listen to the last voicemail
he left you
two months before Valentine’s Day
when he called just to talk
but you were too occupied
talking to someone else
who is also no longer in your life.
Don’t read the last text message
where he invited you to
come see him
but you declined,
thinking that you had more time.
Don’t try to think back
to all the times when
you should’ve said yes,
picked up the phone,
bought that plane ticket,
or randomly checked in.
You’ll feel like a horrible person
who took
memories-
family-
friendship-
time-
for granted.
--
Tiye Naeemah Cort was born and raised in Boston, MA. She finds writing inspiration in everything from her home and family to the random ideas she gets while stuck in traffic. She loves to travel, her favorite color is pink, and she really does like long walks on the beach. You can find her writing everywhere from contributed academic book chapters to op-eds on Blavity. Tiye is a true multi-hyphenate as an adjunct professor, doctoral student, writer, abstract artist, and business owner. She is the founder and global editor-in-chief of Feminessay, the premier online writing, storytelling, and creative destination for Black women to share their literary works with a worldwide audience.
