LEGACIES

I’m done reinventing myself-
Giving it a leave of absence.

I’m recuperating from the migration,
The whole of a life with defined purpose-
Spending youth while the money lasted,
Teaching the sons to claim their places
To dance as I danced, love as I loved;
It is my turn to sit back as a beacon
Of the olden days, a former century.

I’m like an animal in a cage of nostalgia
Pacing the carpet to pass the time-
The only escape is to become a different being
And fly freely in the open sky
With the map of the trade winds
Known to my wings.

Could I find the once wetlands,
The grass standing tall in the sunshine
In field after field of misted blades?
I had only my voice then
To accompany the wind
And by instinct I sang along
Loudly, and with conviction!

How my aging shoulders slump
Like the sand dunes pounded
By the violence of history’s tides-
Let me now be as driftwood
Tattooed in ocean tar
That is discharged to the shore
To be cradled by the waves.

About This Poem

Editing Stage: Editing - rough draft

About the Author

Country/Region: Washington DC

Favorite Poets: D.Thomas, Stevens, Eliot, Blake, Rimbaud, Oliver, Delmore Schwartz, Neruda, Marti, Commings, Moore, Cohen, Merwin, Borges, Breton, Baudelaire, Sabines, Voznesensky, Eluard, Oliver,

Comments

K William

7 years 8 months ago

Loved this very much; the

Loved this very much; the last Stanza, ( especially the last four lines ) is beautiful. I thought of Whitman, a voice both intimate and universal and always heroic.

lonlyhrtsclub13

7 years 8 months ago

I like this very much

We all seem to be reminiscing these days. I like your choice of words. They are descriptive and make you feel the emotion without overdoing it. I like the line about being an animal in the cage of nostalgia in particular. Really draws in the purpose of the poem. Good read.

jane210660

7 years 8 months ago

I love the pathos

in this. No crit , as the poem is very strong. I love how you have blended the imagery and linked it.
'Spending youth while the money lasted,' - one of my favourite lines.
I'm not so sure the second half is as strong as the first half, but even if that is so, I enjoyed the whole.
Jx

Eumolpus

7 years 8 months ago

Thank you

for these so positive comments. I don't think any poet is ever 100% sure of himself with a new work, and I'm so joyed to have reached you.

Scatterhatter

7 years 8 months ago

If you pass your time writing

If you pass your time writing this,
We all benefit!

Geezer

7 years 8 months ago

I heard the...

longing for simpler times and wanting to teach the younger generation, the history of yourself.
Yes, it is so difficult to keep up with all the changes of life and having to re-invent one's self every day. I often wish that I could just retire to an island somewhere, where things didn't change so quickly and I could take my time in adjusting to them. Good work in making me feel this one. ~Gee.
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