Immortality (Repost from 04)

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Open Poetry #51

Immortality (Repost from 04)

Gunslinger
Senior Member

since 1999-10-09

Posts 901
TX, USA

0 posted 2021-03-18 12:21 PM

Almost everything I've ever done in life-
I must confess I've done it on my own.
I've never asked for much, nor have I given;
I guess I've been content to walk alone.

Now I'm aware my days are growing shorter-
In less than twenty years my life will end.
I wonder if I'll even leave a memory,
Or lasting sense of loss with any friend?

I'll leave behind three children, I've been given.
Now I ponder my impact upon their lives,
Will I leave with them some standards and some values,
That they'll impart to husband, or to wives.

Folks often say, with age, I'm growing morbid.
That I possess a dismal frame of mind.
But I'm convinced, success is not attainments...
But in the things a person leaves behind.

If I could paint a picture in my writings,
That compells the reader, till he goes and sees,
The deserts, that I write of, and the mountains-
Walks the beaches, savoring the breeze.

Relives the lives of those who've gone before him,
Reliving history, as he makes his own.
Then I will also make my mark in history-
The life a person lives is never gone.

For I have walked beside the fur-clad hunters,
And stood with Crockett at the Alamo.
And listened to the "father of our Country"-
As he knelt to pray in Pennsylvania snow.

So if you hear I'm gone, do not believe it-
You'll see my tracks no matter where you tread.
As long as man can read, I'll go on living-
And others will accomplish in my stead.

Michael

Moderator

Member Rara Avis

since 1999-08-13

Posts 7666
California

1 posted 2021-03-23 07:08 AM

I was barely out of high school when my father passed away from cancer. When he got the the point where there were few good days, I tasked him with writing some of the stories he had shared with us kids about his life on one of those good days. He was often reserved about opening up with us about himself, but we wrote some stories and went into great detail on them, sharing emotion we rarely saw in the man.

You are absolutely right in declaring immortality can be found in words. I cherish those words he gifted me with all of my being. I carry his stories in my heart and mind, where my own memories have faltered.

Glad you reposted this, John

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