*

Our poet writes: “My name is Emi Vaughan and I am a liberal studies major at Endicott College as part of the class of 2026. I attended Thetford Academy in my home state of Vermont where I took many English classes – my favorite subject. For this reason I was excited to take the Creative Writing course offered at Endicott this semester with Professor Daniel Sklar. This class was a great opportunity to express myself creatively, improve my writing skills, and write poems like this one. Although I have not committed to a concentrated major yet, I hope to continue writing throughout college and post-graduation, and am so thankful for the chance to already have a piece published here!”

Emi Vaughan

I Think about Death Quite Often

I think about death quite often
and the things I’ll leave behind.
I wonder if someone will find my initials in the
children’s books
on my shelf at home.
I wonder if people will see my face in yearbook photos,
in the pictures of the girl’s soccer team,
Division III champions at one point in time.
I wonder how long my favorite pair of boots will
sit in the local thrift store,
If someone will wear them and give them new life
Or if, covered in dust, they’ll be thrown away
and recycled into leather.
I wonder where the disks of our home videos will go,
And who, if anyone, my necklaces will belong to.
I wonder how many generations it takes for a person to be forgotten.
I’ve never thought it to be a bad thing,
To be forgotten as time changes tide,
Natural as life is.
But I like to wonder about the ways
my life will remain here when I’m gone.
Like the color of the flowers that will
grow around my headstone:
Maybe yellow,
Maybe blue.

— Emi Vaughan