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This poem is part of the contest:

Neopoet Weekly 04/06/25 to 04/12/25

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"Thanks for the Memories"

Looking into the past
I see the fallen love I worked so hard to save
Lying in the ashes of resentment and dissatisfaction

I see the fields of purple and pink
Where I used to pick flowers for my grandmother
Now dug up and paved

I can smell the petrichor from the interstate
The same way I did when I was sitting in my mom's backyard
Pretending to make cakes from the dirt, and herbs from the grass and weeds

I sometimes rest my hand atop standing water
To remember what it felt like
To envy and respect water as I once did.

It always amazes me,
The things that become core memories
And the little things that bring them back to life.

I wonder what future memories I’ll make today.
Maybe ones that will nudge my senses in the same manner as my younger years do today
I walk towards the unknown and away from the familiar

I take a handful of soft, sifted dirt
And toss it into the grave of the life I once lived
Onto my engraved casket that reads
“Thanks for the memories”

About This Poem

Review Request Intensity: I want the raw truth, feel free to knock me on my back

Editing Stage: Editing - draft

About the Author

Region, Country: USA - Georgia, USA

Favorite Poets: Lord Alfred Tennyson, Robert Frost, Allen Ginsberg, Walt Whitman , Misha Collins, John Donne

More from this author

Comments

Geezer

Geezer

2 months 2 weeks ago

I like...

this one a lot. I like the complete thought, yet not overly stated, some lines look too long, but once you read them and move on to the next, you find that you didn't lose a beat. Nice. Oh, maybe add a comma between herbs and from. ~ Geez.
.

Lavender

Lavender

2 months 2 weeks ago

"Thanks for the Memories"

Hello, Kristen,
Your poem reminds me of the way I feel when I go visit my childhood neighborhood and stomping ground. The area has changed so significantly, it hurts. But life moves forward and my memories are precious. I really like the reference "memories I'll make today." It's wise to realize that, and be fully in the present. My younger self reminds me of that a lot.
Tender poetry.
Thank you!
L