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Ann M Johnson May 2016
A poet upon his or her death " Does Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night", for they have something to share with future generations through their poetry.
Robert Frost "When faced with two roads diverged in a yellow wood he took the one less traveled by and that made all the difference."
Was William Blake laid to rest under A Poison Tree? Or was he saying that we are like  poison to our enemies? One beauty concerning poetry is that it can be left up to the interpretation of the reader. Even if it was written to mean one thing the readers can discover several possible meanings to the poem like discovering jewels each time it is read.
Perhaps lets for fun imagine" The Raven", giving the eulogy for Edgar Allan Poe, and talking about his life and the loves that inspired his poetry especially Poe's beloved" Annabel Lee" and "Lenore. "The Raven" proceeded to close his eulogy with the words " Nevermore".
Maybe when it was time for William Shakespeare to be laid to rest while dressed up in his Sunday best. His poem " Fear No More" could have been read leaving not one dry eye as many fans cried for a great poet and playwright had died. A big comfort to his fans is that his work is forevermore immortalized in print for future generations to enjoy. As Dylan Thomas best stated " And Death Shall Have No Dominion" because the poets words still live on in print to be read and enjoyed and discovered by many generations to come. The poems that a poet writes are there legacy that they leave for future generations.
Check out the classic poems referenced above: Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas and Death Shall Have no Dominion, also by Dylan Thomas. The Road not Taken by Robert Frost. A Poison Tree by William Blake. The Raven, Annabel Lee, and Lenore, by Edgar Allen Poe. Fear No More by William Shakespeare. I had been thinking about this in memoriam idea for the last 3 to 4 years I finally got it done in time for Memorial Day. I hope you enjoy it. Please be inspired to leave a lasting poetic legacy for future generations to come.
Irene May 2016
What makes someone extraordinary?
What makes them ordinary?
Is there anyone who's just ordinary?
Aren't we all extraordinary?
Do we just underestimate ourselves in thinking that we have to do something profound in order to be considered extraordinary?
But even the littlest acts can be extraordinary.
I guess we're all struggling with what we want our legacy to be.
What do you want yours to be?
You treasure hearts
Because they’re easy to love
As long as you keep
Living
I treasure minds
Because they change my world
Long after their hearts stop
Beating
L Seagull May 2016
You can’t, if you can’t feel it, if it never
Rises from the soul, and sways
The heart of every single hearer,
With deepest power, in simple ways.
You’ll sit forever, gluing things together,
Cooking up a stew from other’s scraps,
Blowing on a miserable fire,
Made from your heap of dying ash.
Let apes and children praise your art,
If their admiration’s to your taste,
But you’ll never speak from heart to heart,
Unless it rises up from your heart’s space.
JC Apr 2016
Been wondering for a while
What have I done in life
If I where to die today
What would my legacy be
Would I be forgotten
Or would my name be remembered through time
Not much could be said for me
I am a shy, easily forgotten guy
Living life like a shadow
Scared to make a name for myself
Just another who didn't make it
Just another forgotten with time
Just another with no Legacies
Julie Grenness Apr 2016
Dear Youth of the Millenium, how are you?
What does our legacy mean to you?
We had ideals once, just like you,
Are you selling out to the system too?
Or maybe we just matured, you see,
Or was it the capitalistic economy?
We were the ones who stopped a war!
All ancient history, now times of yore,
Our ambitions we bequeath you, one day,
We hope the universe waits for you, on the way,
A letter to the future, over to you...
What does our legacy mean to you?
Feedback welcome.
oh my stars Apr 2016
Aim for the history book,
Not the magazine.
Be remembered for good,
Not for bad.
Do what you want,
And want what you do.
Make sure people will remember you.

You can change the world,
You just have to believe,
That you are the one,
Who can end poverty.
Be the change you want to see,
Do it all with grace.
Make the world a better place.

Ignore all the insults,
Trust the compliments.
Stay by your family,
Despite the arguments.
Friends will come and go
But family’s forever.
Don’t give up. Never.

The people you miss,
Will be known to you until
The day you die.
If they’re in your head,
They are never dead.
For you keep them alive.
New people will always arrive.

Aim for the history book,
Not the magazine.
For in the end you’ll see,
Success is your ambition,
Never dream of fame.
The answer lies in your heart,
Even if you don’t know how to start.
be who you want to be, not who everyone else wants you to be <3
M G Hsieh Apr 2016
Nobody talks
of love
thrown into a gutter.*

There is no glory in leaves
rotted to mulch,
turned with dirt.
They drain
and clog.

One look begins our pain,
one sweep ends their suffering.

We attend
at all times
a need to strive
and tend our strife.
To clear the heap,
we burn,

return to ourselves in a corridor of light,
and make do with the bareness of our hands.

The mind follows,
the will carries.
We reach

and let go.
Our smoke
glides the current,

for dreams do not die,
only granted
to the passing-by.
Devin Lawrence Apr 2016
Some people want a legacy
like the lion:
its roar is loud and rich in pride.

I want a legacy like the lilacs gracing her neck:
soaked in desire,
and laced with something unmistakable.
Puns and poetry
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