“REMEMBRANCE”: after a writing prompt by Prof. Mike Sonksen presented in an AAS 151 (Speech Communications) class at Cal State, Northridge

“REMEMBRANCE”:
after a writing prompt by Prof. Mike Sonksen
presented in an AAS 151 (Speech Communications) class
at Cal State, Northridge

:

11/09/2022 (wednesday)

1. i remember yesterday, my phone and mailbox choked with spam.

2. i remember this morning, the day after eletion day, thinking,
‘thank god that’s over with’.

3. i remember falling asleep to the sound of rain, as water is my favorite sound.

4. i remember how nervous i was during my 1st poetry reading in 1994.

5. i remember how november, for me, can be a comforting time: the weather cools, the holidays approach, and i think of the good of the past year.

6. i remember the bad things that happened to me (november, 2 yrs. ago), that happened to our world & our species, but am greatful that blessings outweigh despair.

7. i remember all the people i miss, as everyone i love either dies or goes away.

8. i remember that all those people left fingerprints and watermarks upon my heart, warming me despite the cold weather.

9. i remember all my tasks and responsibilities and deadlines, freaking myself out for just a moment.

10. i remember that everything pans out, because i still got the tools, and i’ll always be among good people.

11. i remember how i’m so dependent on keyboards, my hand gets real sore when i’m handwriting.

12. i remember that my crazy ideas aren’t crazy – others make these ideas real.

13. i remember that we’re all stronger than the worst things that happened to us.

14. i remember how to do what i do, even i so often forget.

15. i remember my favorite line from ghost of tsushima: ‘the strength we need is all around us.’
***

CODA: a DEEP DIVE into line 3, “as water is my favorite sound”

i remember the sound of water, the whisper of rain, as if assuring that no drought lasts forever, or the soothing slosh of the pacific ocean, seen from the black sand shores of an occupied maui beach, soothing my eyes with dancing shades of turquoise and midnight-skies, or the sound of pouring tea, or my arms sloshing that 3-foot children’s pool during a chicago summer.

whenever i’m sick or starving, water saves me & redeems me. water is the sound of baptism and salvation and the mystical power of memory, flowing, crashing, caressing, and cleansing.

: : :

Allan G. Aquino
11/09/2022
#poetproflife