Leave Something Behind – A Poem by Will Pennington

Poetry by Will Pennington

Erased by an impetuous sea,
Jealous, I think, of my temerity
in leaving behind
an imprint of me

Stone fabric, cold, incurvated;
A chase, the sun, a hand,
Symbols, signs, epitaphs
that cry
I Was Here, Remember Me

The wind, the stars, the sea,
Inked on the space that surrounds me;
Permanence that comes with death,
Usually;
Not that bodily death is not permanent,
Just so, but my spirit yearns, nay aches
to live on in memory of me

Not just a symbol, a sign, an epitaph,
Footsteps in stone are but curiosities
three million years hence:
“Lucy walked here” but who was Lucy?

My own symbols are signs and epitaphs
laid out for you to read;
My hopes and dreams, my fears and loves
cry out that I must leave something behind

On a craggy eminence overlooking the sea, as
the brusque wind blew salt upon my lips
and the fragrant stink of seaweed filled my nostrils
amid the cry of seagulls overhead,
I contemplated in the warmth of the sun,
As I gripped, knuckles-white, Earth’s rocky permanence,
The message that I read with all my senses:
Remember me

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About the Poet

Raised around the world in an Air Force family, Will served twenty-seven years in the US Navy. Introspective and sentimental, he pens poetry about relationships while working on the manuscript for his second novel. Will and his wife, Michiko Ono, make their home in Southern Maryland.

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