Burial

I wonder what it would be like if I died.

Would those who cast shadows on me

suddenly act as though they pulled me into the light?

Would those who spoke in whispers of disdain & deceit sing my praises?

Would they bury their truths with my corpse,

and pretend they never stabbed me in the back?

Raise my soul like sycophantic saints,

even though they dragged me down in life.

Sometimes I wonder if my anxieties about death

come from worrying

about being talked about,

or nor being discussed at all.

Will someone blow out my memorial candles?

Perhaps no one will even light them at all.