The Fabric of Memory
Dense knots at times but often barely woven in the main
The textures of memory laid out haphazardly
For humanity could survive on their bed of frayed blankets
The well worn patches were not essential to protect
Their comfort rather came from the sheen of nostalgia
Its gauzy patina born of approximation and careful neglect
Attention wanders and the details are fuzzy
Who needs deep inquiries into imprinted testimonies
Lossy then, this fabric,
Full of improvised identities
Extra premiums are due for error correcting
Recall, the claims adjuster works for the insurance company
The duty of care is yours alone,
As is the responsibility
...
The burden of restraint, and the avoidance of pain too pertains
Such is our compulsion for storytelling
The necessity of inventing those good old days
The wax prints celebrating what were minor victories
Decorations of faded traditions rather than the famines
Rather than the droughts that brought hunger season
Rather than the bush fires that caused an exodus
The painful lessons learned. And the knowledge lost in the migration
Indigo fades over time,
it is said to be a repository of wealth
The dye procedures passed down across the ages, it seems like forever
Occasionally, however, the warnings of the perils are overlooked
But later generations can extract the solutions with a little work
Encoded as they are in the stitching of those famed cloths
...
The ancients were prescient when they sewed
And in their designs, they built in redundancy,
Keen treatments for the fabric of memory
Fabric of Memory, a playlist
A soundtrack for this note. (spotify version)
- Forget me Nots by Patrice Rushen
- Under a Blanket of Blue by Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
- Do you Remember by Jill Scott
- Blanket by Jeff Beck & Imogen Heap
File under: memory, culture, observation, strategy, perception, Buyer's Remorse, Observers are worried, poetry, toli
Writing log: September 10, 2022
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