After I’m Gone
By Maril Crabtree
What will you remember
about me
What will you wish
you had asked me
but never found the time
or had the courage
What will you find
in my dozens of journals
that will surprise, amuse,
or disgust you
or confirm what you
always thought –
that I loved life to the fullest
in the best way I knew
and sometimes you suffered
because of it
Maril Crabtree’s poetry, essays, and short fiction have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Her most creative and rebellious act was to change her first name. Her final rebellion will be to refuse to throw away all the notebooks and journals full of unpublished writings. Samples of her work may be seen at www.marilcrabtree.com. Her poetry book, Fireflies in the Gathering Dark (Aldrich Press, 2017) received a Kansas Notable Books award. She is a graduate of the University of Kansas.