IMMORTALITY

                    Not so inclined now as I’ve been before
                    To take my precious life for granted still,
                    I wonder with some urgency what more
                    Of destiny I have yet to fulfill.
                    I’d like to think, if I have any gift
                    To leave behind me for posterity,
                    It may be what I’m doing now to lift
                    My heart and mind by making poetry,
                    Which may in turn delight the hearts and minds
                    Of readers such as you, whom I may touch
                    By blending sound and sense in apt designs
                    To change your views a little, if not much.
                         To leave a gift for all posterity
                         Confers a kind of immortality.

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