I am a woman.
I am a daughter and a lover and a friend -
I am a student, a poet, but not just
         the body I occupy,
I am much more than the photo on the wall.

I am the laugh traveling down the hall
I am the pull of a memory as you walk by our spot
I am the beat
                of your heart
                              as you hear my words

And I will still be, even when I am not.
   mute, but echoing
   invisible, but lingering
   gone, but so far from forgotten,

Because I will not let myself become just a name on a yellowed sheet of paper -

I am the stars and the rain and the dust in the beam of sunlight streaming in your window and I,

I am human, and so I will always
                                                         be.