Untitled (for Amy Winehouse)

By AC

You are selfish, inconsiderate, reckless.
Who gave you the right?
To darken peoples’ life-lights
And put tears in their eyes.
I guess you never did stop to think
Of the hurt that you caused in a blink.
You didn’t consider the hearts that you broke,
Or contemplate the pain that you brought
To those you said that you loved.
Or maybe that’s just what you thought.
Now there’s nothing you can say.
Literally, nothing.
It is all far too late.
Would it have been the same fate?
If you truly had known what you meant?
If only you knew
Of the smiles you drew
From all the sad faces
Just by you being you.
You should have seen it:
Everyone saw it right where they stood
How people changed from lonely and sad
To being comforted, understood.
It was so very good.
You matter! You are loved!
Don’t do it! Just stop!
Think about what will be lost
Of the people that love and surround you.
You have more blessings than most
And what you’re doing has a great cost
People really want to hear what you say
Please don’t throw it away
But alright,
You say you can’t stay? It’s okay.
Farewell, my dear friend.
I’ll see you some day.

Author’s note: I wrote this with Amy Winehouse in mind. She became famous in the UK from a very early age. She was so talented and very much loved yet she never really saw how well-received she was and people truly wanted to hear what she had to say next. She struggled to the point of being reckless with her very life. She was so reckless in fact that she ended up dying. She reminds me of how reckless I was with my own life. I was very unappreciative and that is something I can see now, as if a veil lifted. But now it’s too late, life as I knew it has completely ended and it will never be the same. After a 15-year sentence, I will be deported to El Salvador. I can literally say that my reckless actions cost me everything. But thankfully, I’m still alive.

4 Comments

  1. Catherine Davis on August 3, 2018 at 8:45 AM

    I’m sorry to hear that you are being deported and I really hope that you will be safe and find friends and community in El Salvador. You are clearly a thoughtful and compassionate person. I hope you will keep writing and find fulfillment and share your experiences and spread compassion wherever you go. I wish you all of the best.

  2. j on March 21, 2020 at 5:51 PM

    I pray that God leads you and that He gives you hope, and help you realize that your life is not over.

  3. Kayelynn on April 21, 2020 at 3:23 PM

    AC,

    Lovely writing! You’re word choices are very powerful and genuine. It was interesting that you explore how much artists mean to their fans and how their loss affects them profoundly. Great writing!

  4. Jocelyn Matos on April 28, 2020 at 5:42 PM

    This poem brings me home. My first childhood friend died just as Amy Winehouse did. I never would have thought that the girl standing next to me in all my mothers albums would go that way. She use to live next to me but then she moved when she went to high school. I saw her fall into a trap. I cant lie I took the same ride but she went further down the road because she hitch hiked. I don’t know when her light died but you are right about one special thing! You are alive! Embrace the air you breath. Its not easy. Keep going!

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