By DeMark Schulze

All the things of my life are time travelers. 
I am the only one
Remanded to this 
Time and place. 

These things about me
Are coffee mugs and racing medals
Books judged and arranged 
  by color or content
Magnets on the icebox from that trip
To Morocco or Nepal or such and such.

This home and all in it have traveled from
A time called Before.

Except for these: a picture and pocket watch.
They alone came from After. 
After he passed.
They're all who remain.
They're all who remained with me
As I trudged through time
  a day at a time.

And now there are more things-
New things-
Things that you know
Things that you've touched
Things that marked when you and I
Ambled through time
  a day at a time.

I do not wish for these things
To travel on without me.
They mean so much
  I think
About a time and place. 

But today you die.

And these things will travel
All together this time
To a new time: After.

And only I will remain here 
In and As Before.
 

DeMark Schulze has been writing poetry to make sense of his travels through the world, first as a human rights worker and later as a diplomat. He finds inspiration in the ebbs and flow of self-worth reflection. His favorite writing influences are the magic realists, and he has written a poetry chapbook on Chiapas in the style of Latin American poets.