Break Free. Do it for Me

by Antoinette Smith

20 January 2021

“Should my place at the table sit empty,

Should my voice in the halls of our home grow silent,

Should the warmth of my heart grow cold,

Should my sudden disappearance in the days of my youth

Seem to rob me of growing old,

Please know…

That my presence is still present in your memories.

I am still speaking through the life that I lived,

The people I touched, and the hope that that gives.

I’m still speaking, still reaching, still impacting—The ripples are still lasting.

My life may have been cut short in terms of time

But my legacy will live on well past the years of my prime.

You will always carry a part of me

And always remember the heart in me.

Let it drive you to keep moving, keep giving, keep growing.

Allow it to drive you to your destiny.

You cared so much for me

You must remember to care for you.

Keep in mind what I would have wanted you to do.

Give up? Stop living? No.

When a seed is sown

It has to be buried in order to grow.

Once the roots sprout out and push down

through the ground

A new stalk pushes up ignoring the weight of the dirt of the earth

Till it reaches past the surface.

Eventually in time

It should produce some type of fruit

For others to consume.

In that,

Life will keep on giving

So you too must keep on living.

I ran my race.

I finished my course

So why do you have remorse?

Pick up, repurpose, refocus on the reason you are still here.

Take a breath for me.

Conquer whatever your fears.

Break through the paralysis caused by your grief.

Break free.

Do it for me

And watch how you grow

Like that seed that was sown.

That’s what I would have wanted for you

And I desire for you to want that too.”