I'm participating in a 5-day "Open Write" on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA.
Today's writing inspiration is from Kimberly Johnson, who shares about Joe Brainard and his writing of "short anaphoristic snippets of memories, all beginning with the words, 'I Remember,' thus defining a new poetic form."
I wrote this poem after a recent conversation with my Dad, who has increasing dementia and memory loss.
Today's writing inspiration is from Kimberly Johnson, who shares about Joe Brainard and his writing of "short anaphoristic snippets of memories, all beginning with the words, 'I Remember,' thus defining a new poetic form."
I wrote this poem after a recent conversation with my Dad, who has increasing dementia and memory loss.
No Longer Yours
I remember
your words of wisdom,
“When you’re working hard, and enjoying it at the same time,
it’s wonderful, there’s no better feeling, I think.”
I remember
encouraging you to share
stories of your work.
I remember
you could not recall.
I remember
offering threads,
“you rode your bicycle to the waterfront, to check on the shipbuilding,”
“you shipped out to sea for six months, the day before Mark was born,”
“you served in Saigon, as the war drew to a close.”
I remember
the wonder in your eyes,
your gentle response,
“That’s pretty interesting, what’s going on in that head of yours.”
I remember thinking
these are no longer your memories,
yet,
yet,
somehow,
mine.
glenda funk, on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA Open Write website:
ReplyDeleteMaureen,
I love the way your poem honors stories through shared memories. The dialogue is very effective in centering the poem in both you and your father’s lives and in inviting readers to be part of the stories you shared w/ your father and now share w/ us. There’s a subtle sadness reinforced by a matter-if-fact calm throughout. It’s a bit paradoxical that the loss of memory can both create living memories and a sense of peace. Thank you.
—Glenda
Mo Daley, on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA Open Write:
ReplyDeleteMaureen, what a sweetly sad poem. You are the keeper of memories now, and that’s a good thing. Thank you for sharing.
kimjohnson66, on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA Open Write website:
ReplyDeleteMaureen, I love the lines: the wonder in your eyes, your gentle response, “That’s pretty interesting, what’s going on in that head of yours.” You showed that he knew you were so interested in his life and had taken careful notes and were curious about more stories – but yet those were the stories he couldn’t share. I love this interchange against the backdrop of enjoying our work. Love is wanting for you what he didn’t have for himself.
Katrina Morrison, on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA "May Open Write" :
ReplyDeleteLike Glenda, I am in awe of your ability to craft so poignantly a story within a story. Now your poem is the repository of your father’s memories. How cool is that?
Jamie, on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA "May Open Write":
ReplyDeleteI love the shift in your remembrances, as I too later referred to myself as the keeper of my mother’s memories and I guess I still am.
Denise Krebs, on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA "May Open Write":
ReplyDeleteMaureen, this is the second time this week that I got to read about your sweet father. What a wise man. And a wise daughter who takes the stories for her own. Thank you for sharing.
Sarah5680, on Sarah Donovan's Ethical ELA "May Open Write":
ReplyDeleteMaureen,
You last lines really struck me; it’s silly, but I got goosebumps. The transfer of memories from one generation to the next is such a beautiful process and, yet, you also render how heartbreaking this process can be. Thank you for sharing your memory. The position of the responder as curious to these memories is beautiful.
Sarah