What we leave behind

I
Our names, etched on the bottom of a wooden bedframe
Prematurely predicting forever
A dorm room bunk bed teenage legacy
We wanted romance, immortality
But we were only kids

II
A blog
My first blog
Well intentioned, carefully crafted
Photographs of employees serving the community
Meant for the company’s glory
Meant for me
Final entry foreshadowing my departure 

III
A school
A toilet
A septic tank
In countries hit with destruction
Earthquakes and typhoons
We set up tents, we set up scaffolding, we set up foundations
We set up a family
I buried my heart in those mountains
Wondering if I’ll ever get it back

IV
A memory, a photograph in your mind
Sunny picnics and snowy sofas
Happiness in an undefined future
A song we wrote for two
We were meant for more
But settled for what we thought we deserved

V
Bits of me, pieces of plaster
chipped away and left behind
People and places holding fractions of human foundation
Scattered over mountains and across oceans
How do we recognize what remains?