A recording of Andrea Gibson reading “Love Letter From The Afterlife” — a tender poem written for their wife, Megan Falley — is going viral following their death this week at the age of 49.
The stirring delivery took place during the poet laureate’s final televised interview, recorded in April 2025 for NBC’s “It’s OK to Ask Questions.” The segment aired in June, just one month before Gibson’s death on July 14.
In the video, Gibson shares the intention behind crafting the emotional yet hopeful piece they wrote for Falley.
“When I wrote this, I was writing it for Meg, but I shared it online, and I shared it so that people who had lost someone might feel more connected to the person they had lost,” they explain ahead of the reading.
“Still, I don’t think I ever told anybody that I had written it from my own perspective, because I didn’t want to upset anyone.”
Gibson then reads the poem — one that reflects their awareness that Falley would be the one left to grieve after they die.
“My love, I was so wrong. Dying is the opposite of leaving. When I left my body, I did not go away,” Gibson’s poem begins. “That portal of light was not a portal to elsewhere, but a portal to here. I am more here than I ever was before. I am more with you than I ever could have imagined. So close you look past me when wondering where I am.”
Filmed outdoors, the clip shows Gibson and Falley sitting in the grass as the poet reads.
“Why did no one tell us that to die is to be reincarnated in those we love while they are still alive? Ask me the altitude of heaven, and I will answer, ‘How tall are you?'”
Views of Gibson’s reading have increased in the aftermath of their death, as longtime followers of their work and those newly discovering it share it across platforms. The clip from the interview has already garnered over 22,000 views on YouTube since it was posted July 14.
Along with thoughts of awe at Gibson’s ability to write a poem about love that endures as they faced their own mortality, many expressed gratitude to the poet for simply crafting such vulnerable words
“I see the news that someone I never met in person has died, and it knocks the breath out of me and leaves me weeping,” a commenter on YouTube replied to a post of the reading. “Your light, your depth, your words have touched my soul. Your poetry has been the portal to a connection to you that makes our never having met in person meaningless. I love you, Andrea. Thank you for everything.”
“Weeping,” another read. “I’m weeping for love, for their love, for the beauty and truth that transcends death.”
“Andrea Andrea Andrea forever with us, forever inspiring us,” added one more. “I lost my grandmother this spring, and I came to this conclusion too from the help of art and stories like this one. Sending so much love to Andrea’s loved ones that will surely be grieving for quite some time. But having this love letter is more than enough to remember the truth. Those who die never leave us.”
Gibson’s poem “Love Letter From The Afterlife” was originally published on their Substack on Dec. 21, 2023.
