Gone but not forgotten: Lost in translation

To ponder

And wander off in the mind

To traverse the pathways and where they may lead.

Dead ends

Lanes with a pretty view

Bogs and quagmires of mud.

Not staying too long for fear of getting sucked in

Sucked under

Wallowing in mud.

Better to meander over the hills

Cutting through shortcuts

Fields of grass and weeds.

Hedgerows and brambles

Having to be careful

Not to scratch your legs on them.

Like the time I fell headfirst into the blackberry bush

Hearing the screams and cries

The sound of a voice and feet running and jumping.

Being pulled out of the brambles

Handed over to mum on the other side of the fence

And then anger and fear in the voice.

Worried I could have been hurt

Annoyed pulling me up the garden path

Questioning why I had done such a thing.

Upset, anger, annoyance, fear, tears

That perhaps belied the love and care underneath

And so, it got lost in translation.

Meandering in the depths of the paths of memory

Some paths barely trodden

Others covered in brambles and weeds, not walked down for a long time.

And some maybe best forgotten

Leaving behind in the depths of the far-flung haziness of memories tucked away

Discarded, not wanted, almost forgotten, but not completely perhaps.

Every once in a blue moon

Popping up unexpectedly

Catching by surprise.

Offering a moment of history, insight and times of mixed emotions

Sadness, hurt, tears, upset

Frustration, irritation, annoyance for feeling this way.

Whose frustration, whose annoyance?

Mine, theirs, someone else’s

Some ghost of the past not met.

Never known

And yet they reside in the murky hazy depths

Resigned to history.

Some ghosts of the past left in the past

Others to resurface, but not to be known

Others yet to be known.

Some trying to make friends almost

Trying to nudge you with some small gem of wisdom

Others banging on the door demanding for it to be open.

Demanding to be let in

Too loud to ignore

Screaming this story is important and needs to be told.

My voice needs to be heard

Your voice needs to be heard

Our voices need to be heard.

And some sense of understanding

Not all but some

Taking the pieces that matter and rewriting history.

Rewriting his story

Rewriting her story

Rewriting the narrative.

For the sake of those gone before

For the sake of those present

And for the sake of those to come.