Just A Memory Now

Poem was the only type that fit it.

Journal 1: A Memory

Just a photo in a frame now but I was there. I took the photo six years ago while living in Hastings, East Sussex, England. Hasting is on the southeastern coast of England and it was what I called home for two years. Living in Hastings was the end of a four year long period of my life. I didn’t know it then but I kind of did. I wasn’t working as I was getting ready to move back home to work on my visa to stay in England. I remember the day like it was yesterday.

The morning was a dull overcast morning when I looked out our window that you could see the sea in. The sea’s personality that day was calm and dull just like the day’s atmosphere. It reflected my mood in every way that it could. I had not been working for the past week and felt weird because I had been working most of the time for years. I had time to take the two hour evening walks along the beach, hang out with the handful of friends I had in Hastings, and to reflect on life. I had one of my favorite dance chillout radio programs “The Recovery” which played on Sunday mornings on KISS FM playing in the background; it was on demand.  I started to make my coffee in a french press coffee pot. I was getting down one of the mugs that a friend had given me. The two sea green mugs from Mark’s and Spencer’s mugs and the urge to do something creative hit me. 

I ran to get my camera ready to go out around town, hunted up my notebook and pen that I carried everywhere. After I had rounded them up I started to pour the coffee into one of M&S mugs and quickly poured it out again. Cleaned up the mug and pulled out “The Muppet” mug to pour my coffee into. “I want to go out and take photos of these mugs and make it look like people should be setting there.” It hit me like a truck. I packed up my bags to hit the streets and faced the day. 

First stop was the beach at the bottom of the hill from our apartment. The cry of the gulls, smell of the sea and sound of the waves gently lapping on the shore everything I knew I was going to miss. Searching for where I wanted my mugs to go I was walking down by the water. I saw a gull on a breaker, nearly walked right past it. I saw the photo in my mind before I even set up my mugs. Problem was how to get close to the gull without scaring it. Pebbles make a lot of noise and the beaches of the southern coast of England are nothing but pebbles. On all fours, I begged “please don’t move, please don’t fly away you silly gull.” I reached out my arms to see how far I could get them. I put each mug at arm’s length, stepped back, lined up my shot, “mugs are a little off” so I just moved myself than to risk the gull getting scared. 

Snap!!! Done photo taken, checking the screen of my SLR digital camera I saw I had my money shot. Now the photo sits in a frame on my computer desk here in Columbus, Ohio. It’s just one of the many photographic memories that I have surrounding me in my home office. The photo is a reminder of that stage in my life. The four years that I spent living in England and miss very much.

Reviews

[A. Amos]

I miss London while reading your work, great work in your write...

[Sami Khalil]

Thank you for sharing all of this...Bravo..................................

[Anand Sehgal]

I had not been working for the past week and felt weird because I had been working most of the time for years.

I am feeling a lot like this, these days !
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The cry of the gulls, smell of the sea and sound of the waves gently lapping on the shore


- A port city portrait :)

beautiful.
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I felt this was more like a free-style prose. Isn't it?

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[Katy Arthur]

Yes, it was. I just didn't see it on the type. Still I hope to do more writing as the like. It was fun to write

[Anand Sehgal]

you did very good work !

[Katy Arthur]

Thank you! =)