Inspired by Langston Hughes Poem by Jackie Chou

inspired by Langton Hughes’ “Harlem”

What Happens to Unrealized Dreams

Do they get wrinkles, strokes,
become misshapen?

Do they spend their last days
in dingy nursing homes,
surrounded by paisley walls?

Where do they go when they die?
Are they cremated,
or neatly placed into a grave?

Do they rise up
shrunken and hunchbacked?

Maybe they're just like you and me,
waving their gnarled arms in the air
until the very end.

Bio: Jackie Chou writes poems about romantic love, friendship, coming of age, grief over losses, mental illness, the creative process, and more.  Some of her works are published by Fevers of the Mind Press.  Her new poetry collection, Finding My Heart in Love and Loss, published by cyberwit.net, is available on Amazon.