They say do not linger forever
But I say the total opposite
I say to you, my dear little one
Stay right here, where you and
I have always been standing
In the light of a bright sunny day
Not in the twinkling of the night stars
Which is a memory of sparkles in your eyes
When I was counting the celestial bodies in your eyes
A pain of darkness in mine fled
But returned with the four o’clock shadow
The lurking of your ghost, silence walking by
But in my head, it’s a cat and mouse game
A maze of your amazing, sparkling, scintillating lights
I promised me then that I will wait out all the moments
You can believe it; I mean, you questioned love for me
But my heart had felt your wobbly neck held in support
My beloved, I stood here and watched over you when you left
That day, it was for school when my heart was on the wires
Not to speak of emotions, a rack but not an ocean yet
Had I known sparing my tears called your grave
I would have relented into a wailing close to a jackal’s call
To the many strangers who would bother to offer a glimpse at a fool
My mood would have been cloud zero before you embarked on that day
On your own journey through life, ha! Of course, the lie you have gotten
That dream of the day before you returned to dust
But for me, the journey to see you depart like a feather on the wind
A hallucination of yesterday to think I am not going to see you again
A decision lived in the blink of an eye to stretch the sky beyond you
A temptation to cry out “soul, soul awake and linger until…”
A temptation to cry out, “Body, body, dream on, wait until…”
I wanted to hold your hand and tell you to wonder a little
When they say ghost, I would have wished it were you for a moment
Now the memory of what had been almost is strolling by “farewell.”
Farewell, then, my dear I had hoped to endure that painful last look
But even that was not my right to exercise,
I was robbed of both you and my last memory
A tear two three four five escaped my bloody, red eyes
Another part of my heart knew the word goodbye
Even though I had blocked out the priest’s words, “may your rest in peace,”
Your body has become bugs fed and a heap of compost under my feet
As I gathered my tortoise feet and pressed on year after year
Scholastika Namutenya Negongo aspires to be a writer and editor. She hopes to bring to life words that will inspire humanity to be kind and loving to one another. She enjoys reading about the terrain and how humans adapt to their surroundings. Passionate about organic farming and self-sustainability, intending to rescue humans, animals, and the environment. Scholastika was born in Omeege Village, near Oshakati in Namibia’s northern central region, and relocated to Windhoek for university. She holds a Bachelor of Business Administration and a Master of English and Applied Linguistics.