Selah // Something Witty

Carry away my old leaves; my ghosts are not gone.

Date: 03.06.16 -- Day 26 (Day 6 of 30-Day Blogging Challenge)
Music: "River" / Ibeyi

Prompt: Motivational Monday! - Musician David Gilmour, born on this day in 1947, once said, "It's a very tempting thing to try and relive your glory days when you get a little older and you worry that people have forgotten all about you." In what way or ways does your writing preserve any kind of legacy?

Legacy is a weighty word. I'm not sure I have something in my writing that holds a legacy, at least not yet. There's so much of the craft of writing I feel I need to learn, both on tone and technique. My hope is that one day I will have something unique so someone can read a little something from me, and know from the wording that I've written it. If my writing can be a comfort to someone, or a revelation, I think I will have created a sense of a legacy.

From my perspective, when it comes to preservation, I think I carry my family with me. Our history, our cultures, play in everything that I do, and I see reflections of them in everything I write. There is a responsibility there as well. There are so many voices that were not heard that should. This past year, I think that's happening more in the mainstream of media, and it's thrilling. I can only hope that change will continue and that I can be a part of that wave of bringing to life forgotten and/or ignored stories.

However, I want to push back a little on Gilmour's quote. I'm not sure I'm afraid of being forgotten in the long run. If one or two people remember me or my writing, that would be lovely, but I don't think I would be crushed if I just faded away. And I'm not sure I'm a "glory days" type of person, lol. It seems that I've been trying to outrun much of what has happened in my past, traumas I don't want to shade everything I do or create. It's a tough place. But that may change one day, and I'll feel that temptation to relive a better time. That actually sounds a bit nice, and maybe I'll be fortunate to get there.