If tomorrow starts without me
Kayleigh’s Unofficial “One of Us” Challenge
If tomorrow starts without me
Know that I reached my best point
That I exited stage left on a good note
It even surprised me
~
If when the sun rises and I do not
Use my now-still existence as a stepping stone
And continue moving forward
The last thing I’d ever want is to hold you back
~
And if tomorrow you feel it cannot continue on
Remember that when anything dies, it decomposes and feeds the earth
Later to be reborn as full of life
Our memories are just as seed-filled as the marrow in my bones
~
If tomorrow begins and I am not with it
Know that I am still with you
The way eyelashes kiss when you blink, or how wind tickles each leaf on each tree
I am just a part of the simple things, and that’s okay
.
Well, this challenge started and ended without me oops. But we’re all still around. Thank you to Kayleigh for this challenge and endeavour.
I know I’ve been a tad MIA on vocal lately, I apologize. It’s been a hella busy time! But I’m hoping to get back to publishing more here.
*Side note: Vocal, where’s your PRIDE??
About the Creator
Oneg In The Arctic
A queer storyteller and poet of arctic adventures, good food, identity, mental health, and more.
Co-founder of Queer Vocal Voices
Water is Life ✊
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
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Keep reading
More stories from Oneg In The Arctic and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (7)
So tender and moving. Really sweet
This was such a gentle take on this. I loved how compassionate and understanding it was while somehow not being sad. Beautiful poem!
I read a couple of entries since yesterday. This was different.Liked.
Nice to see you back! A really lovely take on the challenge too ❤️ Well done. I normally do leave them open longer but for some reason I decided a week on this one 🫣 The intuition was wise though… there have been many later additions and they all would have made it so much harder to choose favourites from!
"Know that I am still with you - The way eyelashes kiss when you blink, or how wind tickles each leaf on each tree I am just a part of the simple things" I love the images you evoke with this poem.
This is absolutely wonderful.
A powerful return! Great poem, and so beautifully put. 🩷 I love the line about 'exciting stage left on a good note' so much! It's all any of us can really hope for isn't it?