my wife started
scrapbooking,
collecting pictures from before us and
since us and
from now and
from then and then
gluing them in a spiral-bound sketchbook to
rest, set, and collect sentiments in the margins.
"i don't want to forget," says her fear.
her grandmother was just diagnosed with dementia, so her fear anchors itself as though it were reality,
as though it were a sure thing.
"if i don't do this, i will forget."
so i help her gather her memories,
a collection is taken up,
and i find the pictures i snuck on our first few dates; the ones i didn't think she would notice. the ones that i sent to friends to brag. the ones that show us reaching, holding, and feeling excited about the newness of each other.
we may not be new now. five years is young, not fresh,
but we are still eager and act accordingly.
i am eager to stand behind her while she sits at her desk. to wrap my arms over her shoulders and peer around her neck. to see the photos she chooses and carefully adheres to these pages of impressions.
eager to know what is important to her, what stands out, what forms in her mind as essential to remember.
each artifact is a piece of her revealed to me. such significance is not lost, it is cherished deeply.
this gathering feels like the first of many steps toward creating the ever- elusive and
highly prized legacy.
the remembrance.
a step toward family.
the root.
my fear:
oblivion,
is rendered toothless with this love.
so i will create, cultivate, and nurture it
as one might tend to a seed
or a child.
the future reveals itself from there.
About the Creator
kp
I am a non-binary, trans-masc writer. I work to dismantle internalized structures of oppression, such as the gender binary, class, and race. My writing is personal but anecdotally points to a larger political picture of systemic injustice.
A Failed Artist, A Disillusioned Poet, An Underpaid Game Show Host
I took my son and niece to Gori, a small town in Georgia where Joseph Stalin was born. They talked me into visiting the Stalin's Museum, the largest in the post-Soviet space. I had resisted going there because I just can't stand the monster and know enough about him, or so I thought.
By Lana V Lynx5 days ago in FYI
Comments (8)
Wooohooooo congratulations on your win! 🎉💖🎊🎉💖🎊
Beautifully written, congratulations on Top Story, well deserved xx
The reflection on creating a legacy feels hopeful and grounded in love. There’s a sense of purpose in everything you describe making it a really inspiring piece about the value of memory.
This is nostalgic, romantic, sad, and yet full of hope...loved it
Oh I love in a piece about scrapbooking and collecting memories that itself becomes about that very act. I always love the conversational quality to your work as it takes away airs and graces There's no pretences but it still is artfully done with beautiful word choices. I loved the insight into how you yourself were making memories and learning about your wife as she collected those pictures etc I could go on and on but will stop there. Congrats on Top Story and a marvellous challenge entry.
Beautiful KP - art left behind is a record of the truth of life and all of its beautiful messy bits and that we lived and were here <3 so nobody forgets how beautiful life is when we show up beside our fear
The things we carry tend to reduce and pare down. It's a picture we create of our desires when we reveal what we keep.
Awwww this one feels like a whole quiet Sunday morning! The sneaky first-date pictures absolutely cracked me up. Loved the picture! ✨