The Legend They Remembered

The Legend They Remembered

I did not set out to be memorable, I set out to be right,
Did not want the whole crowd chanting
when I walked into the light,
I just wanted the position and the leverage and the deal,
But apparently the combination has a certain kind of appeal.

They remember people who move fast and people who move sure,
They remember people who do not wait
for someone to open the door,
They remember people who arrive and leave a mark upon the wall,
And they forget the ones who stood there politely in the hall.

The ones remembered are the ones who did not ask permission,
The ones who brought a plan
and did not wait for someone’s vision,
The ones remembered crossed the carpet with intent,
And left an impression so specific that nobody forgets.

I did not write a manifesto, did not raise a flag on high,
I just made the right decisions at the moments that apply,
And somewhere in the accumulation of the choices that I made,
Something that resembled reputation coalesced and stayed.

Now they use it as a shorthand for a certain kind of pressure,
For the way I push a deadline and the way I push the measure,
For the style of forward motion that I carry like a coat,
When they want something done efficiently,
I’m first to get the vote.

So the lesson here, if there is one, is embarrassingly plain:
Do the thing you set out for and do it without strain,
Be specific in your wanting and be ruthless in your aim,
And the memory of you will write itself,
your legend and your claim.