Dearly Beloved,
One day I will die.
I won’t be here to tell you what that means to me. So I write this in the shadow of Death, lurking over my shoulder as he pauses his busy, busy work long enough to say hello. He and I are friends, you know.
When I die, you will want to know about me and Death. You’ll find evidence strewn across these pages and wherever you see my name. My most intimate relationship is with his loving caress.
I have documented our dance well. He has taught me not to leave empty pages to fill. Start a new page every day with all the words that need to be said carefully etched into eternity. Do not live with any Unspokens. Death swallows them whole.
When he comes for me, I will embrace him. I am safe in his grasp. I do not fear the Reaper.
Today, dearly beloved, as the world dies in a coughing fit and we find it hard to breathe, I write Unspokens I did not know I had.
My lungs are strong, my skin is white but I do not play roulette with air I am still privileged to inhale.
Dearly Beloved,
One day I will die.
I would like you to be holding me when I do, to grasp my hand and whisper whatever you’d like.
I know it will make it easier for you.
Stroke my face, close my eyes and take the time you need to say goodbye.
One day, when I die, give my voice to my sisters to shout what they want across the empty space where I used to be. Their voices need to be loudest of all.
When I die, do not tell my children who they are because of me. Let them know I am me because of them and they can be anything.
And when I die, bury me with a sturdy seedling so that the memory of me will last longer than a whisper.
Grieve the way you choose but do not choose in my name. Your mourning rituals are meant for you alone.
When I die, let all of me be exposed; shame will not follow me to the ground.
When I die, live your life free, knowing that my heart does not need to be fed.
When I die, remember that whatever life I lived was every bit deserved to live.
Remember to sing.
Remember to laugh.
Remember not to be afraid to cry.
Remember to fill your page with words Unspoken until Death shines his light on you.
Colloquially Speaking 