I so relate to this, Tara. I am the keeper of pictures in my family as well. And the amateur historian. Collector of papers and facts and stories. But I can't keep it all. And I haven't yet come up with a good equation that solves for a balance of nostalgia and memory and emotional value.
It's a lot and can feel like a huge burden. I love family history and old photos. But I also have a horror of "stuff." I don't want to store things nobody will ever use or see. It's a really hard balance.
Thank you, Tara, for your comfy prose and poetry that feels like curling up with a good book on a rainy day. Even when it’s about graves. And thank you so much for the shoutout—you are so kind!!
I love the spareness of this, and as with all good writing it is hard to imagine it written any other way. Do you think it is always the writers in the family who become the keepers of the photos? (I have similar dilemmas in boxes in a closet.)
Thanks so much for reading. That's a good question. I suppose writers like stories, so they care about preserving them in the form of those family photos. But, heavens, I think we've all ended up with more stories than we could ever write! So very glad to have you here. I'm so happy you enjoyed the poem. 💙
Wow, this is beautiful. I'm also realizing I need to take some time and mark up some pictures for posterity -- funny how I can read and write so much history and forget to document my own. The bit about the mother and the girl, phew, my heart wasn't ready. Thank you for sharing your words with us, you are magical, Tara. I feel so lucky to be at the receiving end of both your word and support, thank you!
This is truly brilliant, beautiful and so well done. Simple, clear imagery, a story that pulls in the reader, space for one’s own story to be inserted into this search. ⭐️
This is wonderful! I have an old album with photos from the late 1800s. I’m inspired to explore their stories. That’s what the best poetry does—inspires more poetry.
This is lovely, Tara! "The small stanzas make me think of the footprints I might have left as I wandered the graveyard." Even the prose here is poetry. :)
There's something centering about wandering an old graveyard, and this poem evoked the same feeling for me.
I so relate to this, Tara. I am the keeper of pictures in my family as well. And the amateur historian. Collector of papers and facts and stories. But I can't keep it all. And I haven't yet come up with a good equation that solves for a balance of nostalgia and memory and emotional value.
It's a lot and can feel like a huge burden. I love family history and old photos. But I also have a horror of "stuff." I don't want to store things nobody will ever use or see. It's a really hard balance.
Thank you, Tara, for your comfy prose and poetry that feels like curling up with a good book on a rainy day. Even when it’s about graves. And thank you so much for the shoutout—you are so kind!!
Mike, thanks so much for reading and being here.
Walking around graveyards like Glasnevin cemetery in Dublin, beg the questions you've asked here. Powerfully evoked.
Thank you! I so appreciate you taking the time to read and comment.
I love the spareness of this, and as with all good writing it is hard to imagine it written any other way. Do you think it is always the writers in the family who become the keepers of the photos? (I have similar dilemmas in boxes in a closet.)
Thanks so much for reading. That's a good question. I suppose writers like stories, so they care about preserving them in the form of those family photos. But, heavens, I think we've all ended up with more stories than we could ever write! So very glad to have you here. I'm so happy you enjoyed the poem. 💙
Wow, this is beautiful. I'm also realizing I need to take some time and mark up some pictures for posterity -- funny how I can read and write so much history and forget to document my own. The bit about the mother and the girl, phew, my heart wasn't ready. Thank you for sharing your words with us, you are magical, Tara. I feel so lucky to be at the receiving end of both your word and support, thank you!
Oh, goodness. What lovely note. You are so kind. And I'm so happy to have you in my life as a reader and a writer. 💕
This is truly brilliant, beautiful and so well done. Simple, clear imagery, a story that pulls in the reader, space for one’s own story to be inserted into this search. ⭐️
Brian, thank you so much. I really appreciate your response. So kind. 🙏🏻
This is wonderful! I have an old album with photos from the late 1800s. I’m inspired to explore their stories. That’s what the best poetry does—inspires more poetry.
This is lovely, Tara! "The small stanzas make me think of the footprints I might have left as I wandered the graveyard." Even the prose here is poetry. :)
There's something centering about wandering an old graveyard, and this poem evoked the same feeling for me.