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Reflections on My Legacy after Visiting the Ramses Exhibit at the Natural Museum of the Arts in Houston, by Jo Taylor

11/7/2022

5 Comments

 

Reflections on My Legacy after Visiting the Ramses Exhibit at the Natural Museum of the Arts
in Houston

 
to my husband, recently diagnosed with a rare and debilitating disease

Today I’m thinking about my legacy,
what I can hope for, what I might achieve.
I will never be a Beethoven, a Mozart, a Picasso
or a Keats, will never be crowned with an olive
wreath nor Tiktok my way to fame. I won’t be
in the annals of history, in the research journals
of science, in the exhibits of the great Pharoahs
whose cartouche carvings and jewelry collections
blazoned the family tombs of their mighty empires 
like a jillion coral polyps underneath the surface
of the sea. What I long for is a good name, one
chiseled in a single stone, a name suggesting
a rock or a gracious giver or one who has withstood
great heat. A name like Shadrack, a name like yours.

Jo Taylor

Jo Taylor is a retired, 35-year English teacher from Georgia.  Her favourite genre to teach high school students was poetry, and today she dedicates more time to writing it.  In 2021 she published her first collection of poems, Strange Fire.  She enjoys morning walks, playing with her two grandsons, ages four and seven, and collecting and reading cookbooks.
5 Comments
Jeremiah Johnson
11/7/2022 09:41:14 am

Jo, I like the effect of that single sprawling phrase about the pharaoh in the middle of your sonnet, and your husband's name dropped powerfully into the last line - a name which has ancient connotations in and of itself! Your poem reminded me of "Ozymandias," only with a fresh spin! Also, your reflections on the unlikelihood of becoming a famous writer yourself reminded of one of my favorite quotes by the poet, "We cannot all be great poets. But the humblest, if they be sincere, may give a genuine pleasure." That sums up perfectly my hopes for my own poetry.

Though we don't know each other, I do offer up a sincere prayer for you and your husband.

Reply
Jo Taylor
11/10/2022 07:09:31 pm

Thank you so much, Jeremiah. I love "Ozymandias"-taught it many years in my high school English class. I am a late-comer to writing poetry, started after I retired. Poetry has helped me get through this tough year! Best of luck with your writing!

Reply
Jacquelyn Smitth
11/7/2022 08:13:09 pm

Just so deep and delicious with visuals!!!⚓️❤️‍🩹

Reply
First, hope everything is okay with the cancer treatments. Second, a wonderful poem with excellent ties to the exhibit, but moving way beyond in thought...well done.
11/8/2022 12:21:50 pm

Well done write...hope the cancer treatments went well...enjoyed the thoughts about legacy and the way you expressed your ideas.

Reply
Jo Taylor
11/10/2022 07:13:48 pm

Yes, we are making steady forward movement with my husband's illness - went through a bone marrow transplant less than a month ago. Thank you for your kind comments. They mean a lot to this novice writer!

Reply

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