.
Memories rattle round
Like the old pots and pans
On a wandering tinker’s dray
With an enormous array
Of potions and lotions
And creams galore
Piled up high on the wooden floor
Scents and events long forgot
Bring a knot to my throat
As I drown in the gush and the rush
At last released from the heart of the past
.
©DGA 19 December 2011 06:29
19/12/2011 at 8:27 am
Wow! Its amazing how much a smell, a sound of a voice, a gesture can conjure up.
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 8:32 am
Yes, Inzwakazi, it can be the smallest thing… 🙂
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 12:45 pm
Scents can often be more evocative of memory than scenes, sounds or music.
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 3:10 pm
I agree, Col. Scents most often remind me of people. Sometimes, though just an expression used by someone can remind me of someone else. But it could also be a turn or tilt of the head! Or someone’s walk viewed from behind…
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 2:00 pm
Seems the holidays stir up memories more than any other time, event, etc.
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 3:12 pm
That is true, Maxi. Because then it is an association with the holidays themselves, e.g. ‘This time last year…’, etc.
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 3:56 pm
Lovely flow, Denise. I echo Colonialist’s comments . . . scents are incredibly evocative.
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 4:23 pm
Yes, Nancy, they are I agree… that’s possibly why I most often wear the scent my late mother favoured, Chanel No 5!
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 4:36 pm
Managing memory skillfully
Another ability to acquire in maturity.
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 5:39 pm
Yes, discarding some and treasuring others – if you can – although sometimes they can take you unawares!
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 5:20 pm
Super imagery, the “tinker’s dray” I can see it now..the pots and pans and whatnots..Nice.
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 5:41 pm
I have never seen it except in books and movies, Jack. Thank you so much for liking it! 😀
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 6:35 pm
It’s important to visit memories every now and then. Some so that we can let go, others so that we can hold on. Very nice.
LikeLike
20/12/2011 at 1:55 am
Thanks so much for liking this poem, Jeannie. 🙂
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 7:29 pm
I love remembering, but I don’t want to live in the past. Great poem, Denise.
LikeLike
20/12/2011 at 1:56 am
I agree we can’t live in the past, but some memories are good to keep…
LikeLike
19/12/2011 at 9:53 pm
memories like pans rattling…ha yes sometimes….it takes wisdom to know which ones to hold tight and which to release into the night…
LikeLike
20/12/2011 at 1:58 am
Some memories are beautiful and we will treasure them always. Others, well… But no matter what, our memories are a part of who we are, I think.
LikeLike
20/12/2011 at 4:50 am
I like how you have that image of memories rattling around like pots and pans. That’s often how it is with memory. It is nice to be released from the hold of certain memories. It often is the only way to move forward. Very nicely done!
LikeLike
20/12/2011 at 6:10 am
Nice to see you back, Selma. Hope the leg is getting better. Yes, we need to have a clean out now and then. Thanks for liking it.
LikeLike
20/12/2011 at 9:11 am
Great poem adeeyoyo – love the simile 🙂 of the tinker’s dray – very effective and the internal rhymes. Memories can be good or bad but better to have them than to forget entirely (well for most things – some rotten things can go in the bin). Have a great Christmas and hope your new year is better than this one (and your leg has healed totally).
LikeLike
20/12/2011 at 9:35 am
True, Gabe, better all than none. We must just learn from the bad ones and not dwell on them! Thanks for the Christmas wishes. A blessed Christmas and a great new year to you and your family. Mid-Jan I should have a good idea of how the leg is healing. As long as we can see some improvement, I don’t care (not really) how long it takes.
LikeLike
21/12/2011 at 6:34 am
Love the image of the “potions and lotions” teetering 🙂
LikeLike
21/12/2011 at 6:49 am
Oh, yes Bb, I can just see the piles swaying as the cart bumps along… 😀
LikeLike
08/01/2012 at 11:48 am
Perhaps every memory has a taste, hue, sound and flavour that it shoots into the RAM( our temporary memory) once the associated things grazes that sense. All of us are carts carrying loads of these memories with us to our last.
LikeLike
08/01/2012 at 12:52 pm
I do believe that too, Sunamu. Reminders do come and go and the memories are always there, even if they fade a little…
LikeLike