Memories

By: Reese Walker

Posted on: July 31, 2022

Cover Image: "Train Station"

Cover Image by: Fatima Nawaz

Classification: Photograph

Year: 2022

Why does it all feel like a blur, / when in the moment / it felt like all I would ever know. // When the people that shaped me / leave, / who am I?// From every smile / to every tear, / it was worth it. // A goodbye / is so hard to say, / so I speak / through an embrace. / The journey may not end / yet; / the road is long and twisted. / I will forever wear / the shoes from the path / we traveled down together. / The soles are well-used / and muddy / by memories we’ve made. / Can I live the dream again? / Or will the morning come / and I cannot fall back asleep. / The moon / and sun / shine on their own time, / but what if I’ve learnt / I am a star / ever-burning / in the night sky. / I am but one sparkle / in this constellation; / a cosmos full of light / in the darkness.// If this were a paper / the ink would bleed / from the water of my eyes. / The pen is heavy / because I’ve written another chapter / but so much of my story / is blank. / How many of my books / will line the shelf? / In the end, / no amount of words / nor pictures / could capture / the shooting star / whose rays ignited the sky. / A wish is made / and the experience / is framed, / in the museum / of my mind. // Legs painted / heart stained, / over and over again, / I hear the refrain / of the memories.

Description:

This poem describes what it is like to leave a place of people whom your are incredibly close with. To reminisce on the memories you made with these people can hurt, but we all will move on with those experiences. The slashes indicate line breaks, two of these beside each other signify a subject change. The first line refers to living in the moment, forgetting that it will change someday, this links to the sentence, “Can I live the dream again? / Or will the morning come / and I cannot fall back asleep.” This is when you wake up and wish you could fall asleep and continue your dream, but cannot because it’s over. To be a star, is to be bright among many others and be a part of something beautiful, rather than lonely, similar to the sun and moon who float alone in the sky. “The journey” is the path of life, and the shoes worn down that path are a metaphor for who you were at that time and place. The line: “How many of my books / will line the shelf?” refers to how long I, the author, will live to tell my story and spread the word of memories I’ve shared with others. The final line of this poem refers to how one may replay the memories as a way to relive every beautiful moment in one’s life.