I Wish To Be Forgotten

People are obsessed with memory

When loved ones die, we keep their photos

Even after their time,

We try so hard to keep things alive

And it makes me wonder

If it was ever willed by the universe

That we should remember anything at all.

I don't think permanence is natural

I don't want to be remembered forever

I only want to exist

As nature would have it

But I didn't always think this;

I used to want legacy

If not for myself,

For my words at least

But then I decided

My words are not so important--

Nothing of mine deserves eternity.

No, what I want is to be seen once

Like an autumn leaf

That has its season

And falls from the tree

Perhaps to be glimpsed by someone walking

To have its color observed

For a brief moment

Before it returns to the ground.

That's what I want

For both myself and my words

Not to be remembered

But noticed,

Pondered,

Then forgotten.