Best Poems Written by Uyathandwa Tsotso

i cried at a stranger's funeral

When I saw your pictures plastered on billboards, 
I felt bad for your family  
A tragedy 
A misfortune at least  
So, I decided to bid you farewell 
Send another sister off 

It was at your funeral where I realized you were more than just that picture  
More than just another number  
While looking at your slideshow  
I got a glimpse of your life 
You were a person not a statistic 
You were a friend, daughter, sister  
You were a person 
As tears streamed down my eyes, 
I realized i was crying at a strangers funeral 

Not because I was sad 
but because I saw you
With every slide it felt like you were leading me down your life 
Shining a light on my conditioned mind 
Now I realize I was crying for your family  
Seeing them trying to memorize every inch of you  
Fighting with every piece of their existence 
to hold on to the image they have of you 
Stuck between acknowledging what happened to you  
And remembering your good days 

Struggling to contain the fountain I was producing, 
I remembered you 
And the dreams you will never get to chase 
The disappointments you will never get too heal from 
The opportunities you will never get to grab  
How such a bright light was extinguished so violently 
I cried because you will never get to heal 
Forever the victim 
I cried because no matter how beautiful your life was, 
the last memory you will have 
Is of him 
I cried and cried at a stranger funeral until I began to cry for me 

I cried because through you, I saw me 
What could have been if I had fought
I cried because I didn’t know which was worse 
Dying or being left alive to have to gather the pieces of you that he didn’t want 
I cried because even in life every day seems like a death sentence 
I cried because whether victim or survivor it stings the same 
I cried at a strangers funeral because for the first time I said “me too.” 

I cried at strangers funeral because I knew she wasn’t the first 
nor was she the last 
I cried for those who were never found 
Whose souls will forever wonder  
Whose cries were never heard 
I cried for those who carried it with them because of shame 
I poured out my soul at a stranger's funeral because I was exhausted

It feels like I’m always crying at a stranger's funeral.

Copyright © uyathandwa tsotso | Year Posted 2026