208700
4
What is legacy? to me...
wealth and pleasure
personal treasures gained
in a loving partnership
looking back through my history
adding my tract
to all the other tracts
of our ancestors
good, bad, happy, sad
every single One
to what i imagine
they might have done
if i used my natural intelligence
in the matter to determine
where would i fit in
if i were the one...
my ancestors did
with what they had
that i've done
spent or wasted
fought battles i'd thought
i'd won, yet lost
victories i have blown
i'd have won if i owned up
and did what i needed to do
to consolidate the wealth
which i allowed
to slip away, wasted
instead of run my mouth
and walk away
from responding
to my responsibility
dimmed vision
sharpened insights
my intellect survived
extended alcohol baths
music played far too loud
far too many hours/days/weeks/years
chasing dreams i'd never
invested the time in tears
never atoned for the effort wasted
in half-assed attempts to short cut
lacking the ability to be self-inspired
to start fires and do better than make do
putting the work to the standard
of my expectation of reward
driving the intensity necessary
to reach escape velocity
to make my walk in space
part of a history
for my children to chase
trying to emulate the best
that they could be
and continue the legacy
rather than measuring success
under the shadows of duress
like crabs in a basket
knowing what it could be
instead of being steamed in beer
piled upon a newspaper throne
C2
