Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Five for Five: Pictures


They are in the dresser, the second drawer from the bottom. I remember them occasionally while being in the midst of doing something and I say to myself I will take a look at them later when I have time, and then I forget.

I keep them stacked in albums, memories from the past.

Some contain photos from my ‘photographer’ phase. These I have taken myself – photos of flowers, baby hedgehogs and deer, and rainbows over my birth house.

Others were gathered by my family, pictures of people who had died before I was born. There are also photos of passed away distant uncles and aunts, of my cousins when they were little, photos of people I still meet more or less often, and of those whom I grew apart from.

Then there are yet other photos. Those images are printed on my heart, memory of them bringing tears into my eyes even as I am writing this.

My father. My grandmother.

It is because of them that the drawer remains closed. 

*****

Five for Five is a community event for bloggers hosted by Jen and Sarah at Momalom from April 23–27. As this is primarily a book blog, I will include bookish themes is some of my Five for Five posts this week. So, if you are my regular reader, please do not get scared away, I am not turning this blog upside down. And if you are new to Beyond Strange New Words, take a look around and feel welcome to visit again if you like what you see.

Learn more about Five for Five HERE and visit other participants’ posts HERE

9 comments:

  1. I am often surprised by how a photo can bring up such intense emotion. Joy or sorrow or confusion -- it's all right under the surface.

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    1. Yes, I agree - we don't even see it coming.

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  2. I have a few stacks of photos that I purposefully do not look through. Thy sit in a red box. Sometimes I wonder why I keep them. But then I think if I threw them out I'd be stomping on memories in a not-so-good way or something. Photos are so powerful. That much is true.

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    1. Yes, I don't think I could get rid of them even if I never look at them. It would feel wrong.

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  3. Sometimes, just knowing the photos exist is all you need. Even if the drawer never opens.

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  4. Pictures, like music, can elicit such strong emotions.

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  5. Perhaps one day we'll all be glad of those photos we can't bear to look at just yet. For now, though: my box remains shut, just like your drawer.

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    Replies
    1. Perhaps we will. Time heals, maybe it won't be so difficult to look at them someday.

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