Leaving Oakland Cemetery
A student in one of my writing workshops, when asked the generic question ‘Why do we write,’ said this: I want people to know I was here; I want to leave something behind when I’m gone, something more than just a gravestone in a cemetery.
I couldn’t decide—still haven’t decided—if that was desperately sad or arrogant. But that’s not an opinion that falls under bailiwick of a writing instructor. Still, a response was required. All I could think to say was ‘Brother, some days we’re doing well just to get out of the cemetery alive.’
It’s not a very good response. I feel sort of bad about it. I feel a bit worse that I can’t recall the student’s name. But there’s some comfort in knowing that one day I’ll forget the entire episode.
Photo "6471851467" not found (invalid ID)Photo "6471851467" not found (invalid ID)Blog photograph copyrighted to the photographer and used with permission by utata.org. All photographs used on utata.org are stored on flickr.com and are obtained via the flickr API. Text is copyrighted to the author, greg fallis and is used with permission by utata.org. Please see Show and Share Your Work
