Memories Of You

Memories of you.

I can remember; smells that bring me back, to something so familiar. Though I cannot see it, peace settles within me. Though I no longer know it; it belongs to me.

Where was I? Who were they? Nothing knows; except a locked closet inside of me. Will I remember someday? Or give myself the key to these hidden thoughts? 

One moment I’m there and another I’m not. Distinctive details are in my mind but with words, I do not know. I may never know.

A room filled with sunlight; dust dancing in the streams and someone next to me. Just someone.

How did I forget I was once so small? A foreign world hovering over me, though I knew I belonged. A breeze of summer air spins me around, and I watch my dress twirl around me.

I am in a dress now. Just a dress.

I hear laughter. Music. Familiar voices, they speak to me.

Cold grass beneath my feet, damp and muddied. The gardens being fed; water runs down the rock-filled drive.

A life forgotten; Or maybe only put to rest.

Have I betrayed my youth? How could I forget my favorite sundress?

Yellow and light.

The small hole I tucked my fingers through; tiny kitten claws, rocky steps cold against my thighs. And the neighbor girls stopping by to say hi.

Shaded and warm, I’m in the garden.

I see her. In her jean skirt and peach-colored t-shirt; covered in dirt.

What was it that she liked? She calls for me.

Iced tea, with mint from the garden. The garden mint; yes that’s what she liked.

She calls for me, my hands steady and cool.

I have a glass in my hand now; hurrying it over but making sure not to spill.

Freckles blooming as she smiles. 

And there I was; her child.

To my mom.

When I think of you, I think of all of you. I love you. Happy Birthday.