Memory Gallery

By Andrew R. Duckworth

I’ll be in the long hall for long hours
Gazing on the familiar paintings there,
So nostalgic I’m left to only stare
Held subject to captivating powers.

And there’s the time that we were at the beach
My tiny body crashing into waves
Scaring parents so desperate to save
But making sure my hands were out of reach.

And there’s the time I won an art contest,
That feeling of achievement soaking in-
How hard I worked to get that well-earned win-
Yet how I feel I didn’t give my best.

And then those moments I wish not relive-
The sad, the loss, the bitterness that’s there.
But I’m left with becoming so aware
That I have not given all I can give.

I go here every once in a while
To be among the memories I’ve made
And see the rugged pathways that I’ve laid,
Yet see that I still live upon an isle.