Exploring The Crooked Crag

"Where The Poets Go To Die" Poem by Ben Smith Walking up and down again Across the field where the dead poets lay The names of whom are forgotten  Yet their words live on every day I tell people my feelings and thoughts In hopes they remember the person speaking rather than the words of which are being spoken I hope to never die as one of these poets My name dug into the ground where my body lay. "Where The Poets Go To Die" is a poem written to convey a message of the names of whom are forgotten. Throughout history many great writers have died and their names have been forgotten yet their works live on. One major inspiration for writing this was from "The Names" By Billy Collins, which describes the names of many people who passed during 9/11 whose names were forgotten. "Where The Poets Go To Die" expresses the natural fear of being forgotten, a fear that I too possess. B. Smith 26 November 2025

"You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows" -Bob Dylan          I was asked a question by my girlfriend the other day. She asked me, "What would you do if you only had one hour to live?"  I wish I could have come up with a good answer in that moment, but I could only respond with "I'm not sure." After I was able to think about it for a few days I figured it out. Most people would expect me to say that I would spend time with family or friends, but that's not what I would do. Truly the only person that has been with me all my life is myself.           Now I'm not trying to sound like a narcissist by saying that I would spend my last hour by myself. I would genuinely want to be alone. I would likely sit in my room listening to music. I would try to listen to as much music as I could. An hour would be able to get me through about an album and a half. I would choose Blood on the Tracks by Bob Dylan and the s...