Marlee Mawer Poet Rhyme

id been dead only an hour

I'd been dead only an hour
And yet they'd already moved on 
Already bid good riddance and closed the coffin 
Their words fake, their thoughts sour.

I'd been dead only a day 
And yet the maggots picked at my flesh 
But couldn't bear to devour my scars 
My rejected mistakes untouched, I lay 

I'd been dead only a week 
But my carcass was left hollow 
All but my delusions accepted by nature 
The soil murmuring my legacy, a freak.

I'd been dead only a month 
My grave stayed bare 
weather taking its toll 
Id believed people cared, once 

I'd been dead only a year 
Or was it two now? 
You lose yourself when your whole world forgets you 
Or when you become the very thing you fear 

Who are you without their thoughts 
Who are you without your mistakes
Who are you without your legacy  
Who are you without someone who cares

Were you ever alive without someone to remember you?
Were you alive when no one saw you?
Are you alive if no one sees you? 
Will you be?

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Alison A Smith September 27, 2026 at 6:06 AM A stark, haunting meditation on memory, rejection, and what it means to have existed. The repeating time structure gives the poem a compelling descent through death and abandonment, while the final questions linger with real emotional force.