The Remains of a Life

What do you do

when you feel yourself sinking—

when the weight of all that could be

feels like ten thousand universes

pressing on a body

meant to carry only

one human spirit?

Do you turn to faith,or science, or education?

Do you seek despair,or anger, or revenge?

Where do those paths lead?

When you emerge,

on the other side of this journey

will your presence have been a

beacon of hope,

or a force of destruction?

We each have the power to choose.

We decide who we love,

who we become.

We decide who we walk beside,

and who we leave behind.

We decide whether the gifts we leave

are material wealth,

or spiritual guideposts

for those who come after.

We only get one chance -

the mark we make in the world

is shaped by every decision,

every path we take.

Whatever we choose to build,

or to break,

echoes in the lives of those who follow,

and in the end,

their legacy,

built with the tools we left them,

is the only one

that really matters.

kfr, 17 November 2024