This poem is from my second book “Scatter Seeds of Kindness”, and it is probably my favorite poem in the book. This one was a big challenge for me. The words just were not budging. The opening verse talks about a box of old memories that sits on a shelf. I wrote the first two verses and then did not know where I wanted this poem to go, so I literally put my notebook with the verses on a shelf and let my thoughts marinate for awhile. When I finally came back to the poem, the words started flowing about how our memories are fluid and can change over time, and how memories shape us and build on each other as we go through life, ultimately helping to form our character. The poem also mentions how memories are heavy and can weigh us down. In the final verses, the person in the poem realizes they can open that box of memories because they are strong enough to handle anything, and they can even find the strength to let go of some of those things that were weighing them down. So I was happy with the journey that this poem took after getting off to a slow start.
Speaking of memories, how often have you heard a song on the radio or smelled a familiar scent and it brings you right back to a certain time and place, and suddenly you are lost, reminiscing? Memories are precious; they are the storybooks of our lives, and oftentimes they bring us together as we share stories that begin with “remember when …?” How horrible it is when someone develops Alzheimer’s, and their memory is gone—and how sad for their loved ones. Then one day, they pull something out of the memory bank and bank and everyone is astonished and hopeful. But it doesn’t last long, unfortunately, and before long the glassy stare into the distance is back and they are looking at you as if you were a stranger.
Memories work hand in hand with our conscience. If we are about to repeat a past mistake or something that did not work out so well, this tag team steps in, placing a little voice in our ear to remind us—and to hopefully get us to think twice about what we are about to do. Have you ever had a memory about an ex-love and had an urge to pick up the phone, but then decided against it? The sweetness of the memory was egging you on, but then the conscience took over, and suddenly it didn’t seem like such a great idea after all! There is a reason they are an ex, and your conscience knows it, even if your memory is a sucker for lost romance.
Our memories can be bittersweet, but they can also haunt us and weigh us down. Sometimes we keep things running through our heads on a continuous loop over and over again on replay. What value is there in hanging onto these memories? What is the purpose of doing that, other than impacting the quality of your life in the present? If there is a lesson to be learned, learn it, apply it, and move on. If the nagging memory is due to a wrong that was done to someone, can an apology be made to rectify the situation and release the bad memory? If so, make it. But if there is nothing that can be done and all the memory does is bring you down, try to let it go. You cannot change the past, so why carry it around? Do not let it impact the present or carry it in the future. They all mesh together eventually, so don’t let one impact the other in a negative way.
We have to be cautious with the memories we choose to visit, so that we don’t get stuck in the past, or dwelling on them, or even worse, get stuck in a pattern of regret, or “what if…” like with that past romance. In life we are pulled in so many directions, and there are so many things that aim to take us down. We have to be flexible and lean into these changes or else we will snap. Our experiences in life, which eventually become our memories, help to strengthen that core so that we can stand tall against any of life’s challenges.
“The wind does not break the tree that bends” – Tanzanian proverb
The Weight of Memories
There’s a box of old memories
That sits up on a shelf.
I know exactly where it is,
I put it there myself.
There are times I go to reach for it
Then suddenly refrain.
Some days I’m just not strong enough
To walk down memory lane.
I don’t know what I’ll find there;
But then again I do.
Memories of days gone by;
The times I spent with you.
And many family photos
That reflect the happy years.
A good and carefree childhood,
Yet still there were some tears.
Who wants to open up old wounds?
Life is hard enough
Without reverting back in time
To all that gone-by stuff.
It is hard enough most days
To put a smile upon my face
Without dredging up old memories
Of a former time and place.
Memories are heavy,
They can weigh me down inside.
How long I choose to carry them,
Only I decide.
But memories are fluid,
They change as life goes by.
What once made me laugh with joy
Can now cause me to cry.
And quite the opposite, I find
Something that once caused tears
Can bring a smile to my face
As the pain, it disappears.
These memories, they are like clay;
They shape us as we grow.
They mold us as we take on life
With each experience that we sow.
These memories, they’re building blocks
Stacking on each other.
Piece by piece, as life goes on
They build on one another.
They strengthen us so we stand tall
Against life’s endless tide.
Each struggle that life brings forth
We can handle it in stride.
These memories, they are like trees
Standing tall and strong;
Allowing us to bend, not break
When hard times come along.
So whatever’s in the box, don’t fear,
It helped me shape and grow.
I can handle any memory …
And some I might let go.
So I’ll go and open up that box
And honor what I find,
Because the present, past, and future
They all are intertwined.
