I was honored to recently have a glimpse into a room that held a lot of memories of a family I have known for a few years. I wrote this because I was so touched that I was allowed to glimpse into the room and share the memories for the moment.
Memory Room
It’s the small room
tucked upstairs
out of the view
of most visitors
but I linger there often
sometimes staying busy
with a task at hand
but sometimes
just remembering
the hands who had
touched all that
I filled this room with…
a grandmother who
dusted the top of the chest,
the young girl who
tugged at a dresser drawer,
the mother who lifted
the lid of the wooden chest
to fill it with keepsakes
and memories for me
to hold dear…
so, when I am here
in my memory room
I am surrounded by
the touches of
generations before me
who placed pictures on
dressers and folded clothes
for the drawers and laughed
and cried over items that
were shared and treasured
over time and I add my
touches to each piece and
leave behind my treasures
on the wooden surfaces or
hidden deep inside and
I place items for my
daughter within her reach
and put treasures just
out of reach of my
first grandchild and I
wonder who will dust
these next after me
and who will open
a drawer and smile
at what was left inside
and who will be the
keeper of the memories
I have inside my memory room.
–Chris Pepple ©2019