Creature of Memories (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: Just a few thoughts about individual development, helped along by the people we encounter in life.]

A creature emerged into the world

   her only definition was her lack of definition 

   transparent as a reflection upon a crystalline surface

           as she wandered among fields and foothills

                                                       mountains and forests

                                                       deserts and valleys

                        alone

                                    unable to do anything else  

                        

Until she met a kind-hearted sparrow who

   taught her to chirp ever-so-gently

        and gaze up at the blue skies overhead

             to discover their beauty

                  then described the freedom

                        that came with flight

She met a coyote community who

       shared the warmth of their familial bonds

          told her tales about legendary tricksters

              and encouraged her to sing out

                       to the full moon high among the stars

She met a salmon in a stream who

    raced her in a course that wound

      among countless trees in a great forest

          and offered comfort at her very first taste

                          of bitter defeat

She met an injured fox who

  required the lessons she had learned

            of gentle words and warm support

     to nurse back to full health from a fever

         with cold water she gathered from a stream

She met so many other creatures of the world who

   had their own special connections to each other

       and celebrated life in their own unique ways

With each encounter she learned new delights

                                                      but also sorrows

       of friends gained who wished her farewell

                  as she continued her journey

           yet who somehow remained within her

                      in memories recalled

                              alongside many other changes

For this creature became able to do so many things

         she changed from one day to the next

                      on a whim              based on her mood

                           and the situation at hand

               fierce as a thunderstorm when upset

                      peaceful as the sea when calm

                 but she remembered everything

                         and sought to bring change

                                       to every life she came across

Memory—

  that was the name she chose for herself

     defined by what she had been and seen

         and

             most importantly of all

                   the creatures she had met