I Open Her Old Dusty Boxes Filled With Her Memories
I OPEN HER OLD DUSTY BOXES
FILLED WITH HER MEMORIES
PICTURES OF FAMILY, FRIENDS AND LOVED ONES
MANY OF THE SAME PEOPLE AND SOME NEW ONES, ONLY CHANGING CLOTHS. HAIRSTYLES AND POSITIONS
OVER THE YEARS IN VARIOUS HOUSES, ROOMS AND LANDSCAPES
AND THEIR PLACES IN THE STACK OF PHOTOGRAPHS
THEY POSE, THEY PLAY, THEY PARTY
FROM BIRTH TO BIRTH
THE WEDDING, BABY AND SCHOOL CLASSROOM PHOTOGRAPHS
WERE ALL KEPT NEATLY IN CARDBOARD FOLDERS WITH CUTOUT FRAMES EXPOSING THEM TO HER
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE PILE BETWEEN THE BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPHS
AND THE COLORED ONES
NEXT TO THE MARRIAGE, BIRTH, AND GRADUATION CERTIFICATES
ARE DEATH CERTIFICATES AND MASS CARDS
GIVING US THEIR NAMES
ALONG SIDE PICTURES OF SAINTS
MANY OF THE EARLY BLACK AND WHITE PHOTOGRAPH OF HER PARENTS, BROTHERS AND SISTERS USED TO BE KEPT TOGETHER IN TATTERED MANILLA ENVELOPES TOWARD THE BOTTOM OF THE PILE
AT THE TOP OF HER MEMORIES
A FEW OF THOSE MEMORIES
VERY SPECIAL TO HER
USED TO BE KEPT IN SIMPLE VICTORIAN FRAMES
ON HER BEDROOM BUREAU
ALONG WITH EARLY PICTURES OF ME, MY BROTHERS AND OUR DAD
THE LATER FAMILY PICTURES OF BLACK AND WHITE AND COLOR WERE KEPT IN TACKY ALBUMS
THAT AGED WITH US OVER TIME
AS THE PEOPLE PASSED ON
NEW ONES TOOK THEIR PLACE
ALONG WITH THE NEW MASS CARDS
GIVING US THEIR NAMES
ALONG SIDE PICTURES OF SAINTS
THE NEW WEDDING, BABY AND SCHOOL CLASSROOM PHOTOGRAPHS
WERE ALL KEPT NEATLY IN CARDBOARD FOLDERS WITH CUTOUT FRAMES EXPOSING THEM TO US
I DO NOT RECOGNIZE MANY OF THOSE IN HER EARLY PHOTOGRAPHS
BUT THERE IS NO ONE LEFT TO ASK AS TO WHO THEY WERE
THE DIARIES, SCHOOL AUTOGRAPH ALBUMS AND PERSONAL PHONE BOOKS IN HER WRITING
THAT I HAVE FOUND IN THE BOXES
WILL GIVE LITTLE CLUE AS TO THE REAL PAST
THEY, LIKE THE POSED PHOTOGRAPHS
WILL GIVE TO THOSE WHO WERE NOT THERE
ONLY THE VAGUENESS INDICATION OF SPECIFIC SNAPSHOTS IN THEIR TIME
WITHOUT ANY OF THE CONNECTING TISSUES.
PART OF THE MEMORIES FOUND IN THE SMALL BOXES WERE THE PERFUMES, JEWELRY AND PILLS THAT SHE WORE
THAT GOT HER FROM ONE EVENT TO THE NEXT.
THE MEMORIES THAT WERE IN THESE BOXES
ARE ALL GONE
OUT INTO THE WORLD
AND ALL THAT REMAINS
ARE THE PAPERS AND THINGS THAT ONCE WERE
LAYING IN THE BOXES IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER COLLECTING DUST
AND WAITING FOR SOMEONE
SOMEDAY
TO PICK THEM UP
AND WONDER WHAT AND WHO THEY WERE.
Copyright © Rudolph Rinaldi | Year Posted 2011
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