When Memory Calls

©2024 Susan Noyes Anderson

Image by Ave Calvar on Unsplash

When memory calls out to me,
I open up life’s book
and turn the pages backward for
a long and lovely look.

The tome, grown heavy in my hands
with mostly welcome weight,
pushes and pulls my timeworn heart,
swings wide its weathered gate.

I was a wailing infant,
eager toddler, clever child,
precocious adolescent with
a soul both fierce and mild.

Fond years with mother, father,
sisters, brother formed my soul.
They rooted me in family love,
fed me, and made me whole.

But childhood images, though dear,
are not where my thoughts rest.
Instead, they settle on those days
I’ve known and loved the best.

The days of marriage, motherhood,
and forging family ties,
when all the light I needed shone
inside my children’s eyes.

The days when my strong heart grew
stronger, loved by a good man,
a man whose vision of a family
echoed my own plan.

Together, we created life;
what more could two souls share?
We sought the sun and planted seeds
and nurtured them with care.

Our children grew, their loveliness
an ever-present blessing.
The gift our family brought was simple:
Joy beyond expressing.

That joy beyond expressing is
what lights my heart today.
We’ve had our share of sorrows, too,
but love keeps them at bay:

Our family’s love, a sacred love –
His love – that never fails.
When memory calls out to me,
I travel golden trails . . .

And know that God prevails.

∞§∞

My beautiful and eternal family, dearly loved.
One son, Todd, is surely on loan from heaven in
that golden ray of light behind his brothers’ heads.

If this poem resonated with you, you might enjoy reading Anthem of Ancestry, Define (Divine) Tradition, Sweet Reminders, and Found. You can also look directly below to click on a title and picture with similar subject matter.

Related Poems:

Not Yet a Bust The Source Define (Divine) Tradition Anthem of Ancestry