August The Twenty-Ninth

Sailing On Away

AS I take leave of friends
And of this place I have called home
I ask that none forget me -
Or, at least, not immediately.

Remember me for the good things I have done,
But don't forget the wrongs I have committed
Because they alone
Have made me human - and compassionate.

Remember me at the setting of the sun
When the wind dies down before the golden globe
Drops into
The sea.

Speak to me sometimes
When the air is calm
And your voice will carry through time
To reach my straining ears.

I will rest within the earth
At peace at last.
There is no more straining
Against a body grown too frail and weak.

Remember me at my strongest.
Remember me at my kindest.
Remember me - I guess that's all.
Remember me.

-- by the blog author
A sailboat on a lake. Taken July 15, 1887, by photographer Wallace G. Levison.