HOPE.LIFE.LEGACY. | Teen Ink

HOPE.LIFE.LEGACY.

August 13, 2008
By Lisa Wang PLATINUM, West Roxbury, Massachusetts
Lisa Wang PLATINUM, West Roxbury, Massachusetts
21 articles 0 photos 0 comments

In the memory of J.F.K.

Ripples of hope
Tendrils of life
Carried through by his legacy

1,000 days later
1,000 moments later
Drift through these charted waters on
Ripples of his life

Out of context, blurred with time
Deep with meaning, buried in change
Memories of his words-
clear, unchanged, timeless

Remember, always remember
What made this country great
But 1,000 minutes or 1,000 hours
Or 1,000 days
Are only moments of an all too fleeting time

Time never stops
People do.
People stop and look back at things long since past
And they wonder
And that in itself is more
beautiful and broken,
tragic and wonderful,
flawed and perfect
Than anything else we care to leave behind

It is not only our choices
that determine who we are
But our memories, as well,
to determine who we were

Why England Slept,
Is no longer relevant
as long as America never sleeps
as long as the echo
of his memory still resounds
And the repercussions remain
Trapped in a tower a windows
Reaching forever towards a piece of sky
Framing a brilliant sunset
Orange and red and blue

A limitless tower
Endless
Because who could ever fit a person’s life
In a box?

What did we lose in 1,000 days?

What did we gain?
Who we are today
Is only a reflection of yesterday
And a memory of tomorrow

In his memory

The memory of his life
His mistakes, his achievements, his dreams
The memory of his legacy
His words, his hopes, his story

Remember, always remember
What made this country great
In his memory
In the memory of tomorrow.

The author's comments:
This piece was written for the HBO documentary that a few Boston students were filmed in for the 50th anniversary of JFK's presidency. I was one of those students and this is a piece inspired by what we learned about JFK's life in the Kennedy Museum.

Similar Articles

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 0 comments.