Time Capsule
I’ve been filling a time capsule for years
I keep digging it up and reburying it
Each new treasure carefully selected
For the memories that it evokes
All the things I want to remember
There’s my small blue bear
Missing both eyes
And absolutely thread bare
Every night keeping me company
To frighten away my nightmares
My favourite playing cards
The ones with the tall ship on the back
How many hours of solitaire
Have I played on that deck
There’s rolls of pennies
Picked up for luck
But you’re lucky to find pennies anymore
I’ll have to collect nickels instead
My first pair of earrings
How I begged and pleaded to get them
And they turned my ears green
The rose I was given on my 16th birthday
It’s petals curled outward in the perfect rendition of life
Pink even after all these years
Kept safe in a silk-lined box
Cards from my grandparents
For birthdays and graduations
Once containing money
Now filled with memories
Their handwriting the script of love
Newspaper clippings of accomplishments
Because that was social media when I was young
A time when it meant something
To have your picture in the paper
My first walkman
Now outdated technology
With so many cassettes
I couldn’t leave any music behind
Mixed tapes I made for myself
Others like love letters made for me
The music goes on and on
But the time has come
To bury the time capsule again
I open myself up once more
And place the latest contents inside
It’s time to bury the past
For the time being
Words: ©4/2/2021LCR
Image: CCO
Things carry so much life essence. I relate to saving a collage of things that tell our life stories in a visual shorthand. I get sad when I think about how others probably won't treasure our treasures in the end.
ReplyDeleteThank you. I get sad about that too. To me they are treasures, but they become trinkets once you strip away their memory.
DeleteThis is beautiful. And as it happens so often, with your poetry, it feels completely true. It brings to mind every relationship we thought would last forever, but didn't. It also makes me admire the speaker. They have done so much living and gaining and losing... but they never close up to the possibility of one more memory (that, perhaps, will be the best).
ReplyDeleteIt's funny because I had completely forgotten about my blue bear, until I discovered it at my parents house along with this collection of other things I had set aside; things I couldn't throw away from my childhood/adolescence. Suddenly I got to be the little girl, the daughter, the granddaughter, the friend, every younger version of myself came back to me all because I held a little blue bear again and had a box full of memories saved.
DeleteOh, I have a box like yours ... I pull it out every few years to remind me of all the simple pleasures / treasures I've been blessed to experience. Your poetry is flawlessly composed, the 'play' on words delightful, Lori.
ReplyDeleteI have a few of these boxes stashed in different locations. Different eras of my life. They're fun to find. I think my latest one is virtual. It's a guess whether I'll remember where it is. :)
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