Growing up emotions cuddled in the orange warm blanket
now forgotten tossed aside in the wooden bunk bed
yellow stained albums of school picnic some unrecognisable faces
black and white pictures carefully preserved then, now unwanted space
hazy numbers on old bundled and forgotten salary slips
paper files of old cheque books and passbooks
announcements of new family additions via postcards
additions, on way to retirement soon
romantic cards and long worded letters arranged date wise
files as antique as the thirty-six years of marital togetherness.
Tedious chore to clear bunk bed and old suitcases
separate obstinate pictures from damp albums
garbage bags queue to fill musky discoloured files
a week's effort cleans the room
old suitcases and bags given in charity.
an age-old-procrastinated task finally accomplished.
Each photo bounces different thoughts
childhood, youth, marriage, children
nostalgia reveals contours of life's stages
many aged family members just remain as pictures
loss a vacuum unoccupied.
mundane task ahead to compress memories in gigabytes
click or swipe in future to see life backwards.
The orange blanket sits alone in the bunkbed
its comfort hugs me in my imagination as I write.
