Mementos (A Poem)

By Joyce Jacobo

[Author’s Note: Little things can invoke powerful memories.]

Isn’t it strange how simple items

    or ordinary gestures

                  can mean so much

       in our lives?

Especially when the crisp winds blow

       around this time of year

              which conjure memories

                   from those we still hold dear

Sometimes I light candles

  and think of my grandmother

      or wear a white woolen sweater

             just like she used to do

    perhaps tomorrow

        I will even make Malt-O-Meal

                                 in a coffee mug

                        with a banana on the side

                                         as was her wont

Or maybe I will wash the car

   that my uncle used to own

      but now sits in my driveway

                 an old tank of a vehicle

              he loved so much

                      now dirty and needful

                            of some extra care

Just little efforts made for things

             they held dear

      because it would

                have made them happier

I carry along a locket

     at times around my neck

             with photos

  that show my parents and brother

        just to have them nearby

                   in small ways

          as I venture about in the world

                          although I can still see them

                                 and be with them

I wonder at these small fragments

                             and mementos

         valuable

                                     because of the weight                        that love can imbue   

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