Adieu, a goodbye in the brightest flames of summer,
Lay beneath a skin of lies,
Leaving behind only a trail of memories in the sky.
If I could have but one wish,
Nothing would have come to a head to begin with,
Every time, I'm the one picking up after myself.
Ending the evening with a solemn adjourn,
Death by fatigue, or death by solitude,
Either way, the result is the same, you die.
Do I have a choice?
Why bother making it?
All in all, it's kind of a s*** deal.
Showered in safety and comfort,
Only I know it's not that simple,
No, it's the same thing as never living at all.
Endless torrent of the things I wish to hide,
Penetrating my thoughts and leaving me stripped bare,
Even now, as I ponder my exit stage right.
Regarding my will, I have nothing to leave behind,
Seasons of memories are all I have.
Opportunity and blessings be upon who is next,
Never again will it be I.

Nice job on this poem! I think this year has really made a lot of people think about death because in some places, death has been staring people in the face.

It can be hard to imagine that any of us will make an impact while we're living or especially after we die. But I believe that even small things that we do make a difference in others' lives. They just don't always say anything about it.

This year has forced me to think more about what I'd like to leave behind when my time has come. And sometimes I struggle thinking that anything I said will actually affect someone's life now or later on. But it seems that what I do with my free time and how I act around other people will make at least a little impact on them. One of my friends texted me that he suddenly won't be going to our college this year because he moved with his family. He thanked me for my friendship, and most of the memories he has are not when we talked to each other, but when we did things together (such as mentoring a high school student).

So I think that regarding what we leave behind, you're right that we'll leave behind memories. But I hope that we can also leave behind some inspiration so there can be more necessary change made in the world.