I have lost a jacket, a bracelet, earrings, even a cell phone, but worst of all...
I have also lost precious memories
I have lost bits and pieces
Like cracked glass of a childhood
In a far away place
Crystal shards crunching beneath my feet
The memories of a country people considered war ridden
Among all the rest
Where people here struggle and refuse to understand a culture separate from their own
A country that smells faintly of gasoline at night as all the cars zoomed past
The memories of a country so alive and bright at a time when the sun was meant to be setting
The smell of a jasmine plant elevating as I swung closer and farther
I lost the sweet perfume of that scent just as I had lost that dog many years ago in my beloved country
A white dog with brown polka dots, my grandpa whispered
But all I can remember is the sinking feeling when I woke up to his absence
I felt the loss of his bark, but still there were more memories I kept
A garden worn out by time, laughter echoing through the trees and weighing down the tree pregnant with peaches
I had sat atop my uncle's coffee cup as it scorched my rear end through my skirt
Just a young girl
I remember how unexpected it was at first
And then the pain that followed along with shrill, exaggerated screams
These memories filled me up, but took away just as much. Like a sand and glass timer
When I searched more
I felt as though I gained more.
I Found more memories
Floating in my head in the country far away
I envied that country for stealing them
For taking away something that was mine
For taking away a well spent childhood and storing it in the cracked pavement of the streets and in the rusted pots of a nomad's tent
Throwing it into the dead sea as it dispersed and became undistinguishable, turninginto salt
I found the memory of a bobbing glass boat and coral reefs beneath my feet
Waves that destroyed the writing id engraved in the sand
A purple starfish with only four legs
I found the memory of a girl surrounded by her cousins that gathered mattresses and surfed them down staircases
Scary stories uttered in my ears and the undying nightmares of a green man in my closet
I found the memory of 101 Dalmatians playing on a small TV screen in a basement
The memory of popcorn being thrown in the air and thudding on the marble floors.
I found the memory of a black dog named Kookie, chasing me around the house.
I found the memory of a three-year old girl getting hit in the face with a giant snowball, hot tears streaming down her face and melting the icy bits.
The memory of a yellow banana boat jumping atop the waves in the deep of the Red Sea.
I found the memory of a dimly lit infinity pool covered by the silver pepper of the stars
The memory of uncontrollable laughter and a colorful disco ball.
And then the memory of me being flung from a forceful tide as the flying fish loosened my grip
I was thrown into the water
But when I came back up
I was only half the memories I was before.