Thinking about the choices we each made
The different ways we contributed
That is what matters most
To those who will come after
We are travelers in transition today
Back seat passengers in a taxi
Stopped in traffic by an urban mural
Signed by Radical Impermanence
You ask what is the intention in that name
Before deciding upon your preferred meaning
That radical change is inevitable
Though it may seem impossible in the present
If I were to judge myself compared to my aspiration
Based on what I have done to further the cause
To make the world a better place
My various efforts brought meager results
You have so much more to your credit
But you eventually got worn out
And now we are both living out our days
In the gathering worldwide crisis
We are returning from visiting your aunt
Still living on her own at 98 years old
Still in the house you visited as a child
Full of memories for both of you
Every keepsake she has collected
Holds a story from her life she wants us to know
As we admire the antique objects in her display cabinets
I record her oral history about them and herself
Having been here in this same house for so long
While everything has been built up around her
Not expecting to be around much longer
Missing her friends and family already gone
She is happy we are there listening
Having so much to tell us and so little time
She gives us a quilt she made from off her bed
As a piece of herself for us to have
For now we can still enjoy our conversations with her
Knowing the quilt could be handed down again someday
In an occasion to tell stories about who she was
And something about the world she lived in
