Witness To My Memorial Poem by Leonard Dabydeen

Late
at night
amidst
thunderous
applause
dogs
evoke
eerie feelings
howling
incessantly
grey clouds
drift
in silent purpose
as wind
howls
against
swaying trees
flailing branches
in fright
of full moon
glowing
in search of
shadows
scurrying
in the graveyard
my right hand
holds firmly
a flickering lantern
my eyes
furtively
scour
each tombstone
ratifying epitaphs
looking
for a burning
tabloid
of my name
as it is
written
in palpitation
of your heartbeat
my casket
is yet to come
as I prepare
to visit
the hereafter
as you become
witness
to my
memorial.