When I remember me then
(Line taken from Superb Ermine by
Anne Walsh)
The salty taste of nostalgia
why is the past so sad?
when I remember me then
my eyes fill
I can’t recall such cheerfulness
and yet my memory
of happiness is boundless
When I remember me then
there is a sensation of wrenching loss
and yet now when I look about myself
there is seemingly nothing missing
When I remember me then
there rises a powerful protective urge
for all such soft bodied creatures
taking their vulnerable skin
into the growing world
Beautiful.
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ReplyDeleteMikaela, that you'd spring from my line so much more beautifully than I had is the greatest piece of sunlight, like the slant that used to come in the front door when I was a kid and afternoon lasted forever like summer. Doesn't your heart break for the little one you were, the little girl in the pic with the dog and the smile like your hand on the dog was the biggest secret miracle? My heart breaks but sings too, at old photos of me and of my brothers and sisters. Every singing passing thing so hyper precious. And yes the vulnerable, vulnerable skein, the embryo like quality of first years, the egg of us, but what slow wisdom I had then. And this is exquisite and exactly how I feel too, like everyone is my child in a way:
ReplyDeleteWhen I remember me then
there rises a powerful protective urge
for all such soft bodied creatures
taking their vulnerable skin
into the growing world
Thank you Anne! What a lovely response. One of the best things about this little community is the generosity of spirit. xxxM
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