My Name

Goodbye if you must
but I will be staying.
And if you must cry,
then do so without hesitating.
If you come back to ask of me,
you will find that the sun has
become part of the sea.
Ask the strangers to the darkness: ‘Have you seen this soul?’
‘No, no Mister, not at all.’
‘Well how will I find her?’
How will you find me?
Call me,
call me
by my name.
Call me,
call me
by my name.
But you do not know
my name now,
do you?
See,
this is why I stayed:
to remind you of
my name.

Islam Mohammed is nineteen years old. She attends Cheney School, Oxford, where she was part of the First Story Group led by Writer-in-Residence Helen Cross.