The Weight of a Memory

Poetry
Written By Lara d'Entremont

How much does a memory weigh?

When it falls over me like a heavy blanket

In the darkness of my dreams,

It’s like a hand crushing me with its weight.

How strong is a memory?

When it grips me like a fist

In bright daylight, unashamed of its evil,

It’s a captor’s hand leading me to places of terror.

How does a memory taste?

When it swallows me 

In the midst of an ordinary task,

It tastes like bile in a dry mouth.

How quiet is a memory?

When it whispers in my ears

As the world bellows around me,

It sounds like a cacophony of chains rattling.

How does a memory change you?

When it retells the story that caused you much pain

It makes you boil with rage you never thought you had,

To protect you from ever gaining another memory like that.

The weight of a memory is strong.

Will you bear its weight with me?

With an arm under yours,

Will you help hold the story that feels too much to bear?

The volume of a memory is loud,

Will you re-story me? Rehearse the truth with me?

Will you show me my place in the story of redemption,

When the fog makes it impossible for me to see?

The weight of a memory comes lighter,

With the strength of another,

Though I still feel its burden,

I no longer bend as low under it.

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The Weight of a Memory

How much does a memory weigh? / When it falls over me like a heavy blanket / In the darkness of my dreams, / It’s like a hand crushing me with its weight. / How strong is a memory? / When it grips me like a fist / In bright daylight, unashamed of its evil, / It’s a captor’s hand leading me to places of terror.

Two Rivers

A child, I stood parched for water, / I searched for a brook of life to nourish, / To carry me down the stream to wholeness, / And cleanse me from all that left its mark. / Yet you were a polluted water, / Your fatherly care poisoned me from within / Through toxins entering inside my skin, / And gathering on my hands to rot all life away.

The Marriage Garden

Dressed in white and lace, / In polished shoes and straightened ties, / We bent low to pour our sand to a vase, / To plant seeds of love and faith. / Young and unaware of the death to follow, / The shattering of seed hulls yet to come, / We didn’t know the years of sorrow / That comes from planting seeds of love together.

When You Suffer

Good thoughts and prayers sound so meek, / And tears shed still don’t fall as healing waters, / My reach, my unsovereign hands feel so weak, / As suffering billows over loved ones like fire. / If only my words could mend broken hearts, / If only they could blow away the dark clouds, / If only they could outshine the smoke and dark / That covers those I love tonight.

Lara d'Entremont

Hey, friend! I’m Lara d’Entremont—follower of Christ, wife, mother, and biblical counsellor. My desire in writing is to teach women to turn to God’s Word in the midst of their daily life and suffering to find the answers they need. She wants to teach women to love God with both their minds and hearts.

https://laradentremont.com
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