After I die,
I will wander the world
the way I’ve always wanted to,
see the cherry blossoms in DC
and the broken ground of the Berlin Wall
and the barren earth of the DMZ
where the voices but not the souls of the others gone
linger.
And eventually
I will tire of the earthly things
that tower but do not speak.
Somehow I’ll find my way back home,
where I’m sure my grandmother will be waiting
sunlight warming the joints that no longer ache
watering her aloe plants
and a bowl of my favorite fried rice on the table.
Melody (Mel) is a high school junior from New Jersey. She has been writing poetry for about two years and has won a number of awards, including bronze in the NJCTE competition and a gold key in Scholastic Art and Writing. When not procrastinating and worrying about her upcoming exam, Mel reads, sings, and volunteers in and with her school (PS: her favorite ice cream flavor is Ben and Jerry’s “The Tonight Dough with Jimmy Fallon).