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My Parents - The People I Knew and Didn't Know
by Chris Sorrenti
No, it’s not like that
They didn’t abandon me at an early age
Quite the contrary
Over the course of their lives
From time to time
I would ask them questions about the past
Though often didn’t have to
When during family gatherings
They’d happily reminisce over their time together
And the single years before meeting
Sometimes adding...
In our time
there was no such thing as a teenager
you were a kid one day, an adult the next
Funny...light, sad and/or serious moments
Some I would remember, and still easily recall
While others innocently forgotten
Experiences and wisdoms
Minute details that go into making a life...lives
The photo albums and memorabilia
Were always there, and occasionally
I or we would bring them up from the basement
Discuss the history, meaning
Fascinating anecdotes
And in essence
Had made all of us change, evolve
Being the oldest of three
Once Mom and then Dad had departed
Bro’ and Sis’ thought it only fitting
Our parents’ collective history be handed over to me
I though it would be a great retirement project then
To go through and sort the pictures, tokens
Couldn’t get over how many we three siblings
Had passed on to them as gifts from our own lives
During our seemingly too short a stay with them
And the years that followed...
School photos, report cards, assignments
Grand and great grand kids
Boxes and boxes of memories bringing
The daunting task of separation
By brother, sister, myself
And scanning those items the three of us
Would be interested in
Deeper down in the pile however
The story becoming fuzzier
Sure, I had seen a lot of this stuff years ago
Had asked questions at the time
Some details easily remembered
While others forgotten in the rush
Of my own busy life
Relatives and parents' friends
As kids and in their twenties, unrecognized
Though thankfully Dad had written details
On the backs of some
A snapshot of my father as a young man
Holding a golf club when I couldn’t ever recall him
Playing the game
Piece by piece, my parents’ lives reassembled
One photo...memento at a time
Questions answered, but leaving so much
As mystery
Information that would have to wait
Until reunited once again
© 2019
Photo © April 7, 1956
800 hits as of March 2024
02/16/2019 Posted on 02/16/2019
Copyright © 2024 Chris Sorrenti
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Philip F De Pinto on 02/17/19 at 02:42 PM You've written a beautiful poem, Chris and a heart rendering reminiscence. That is a great photo of your parents, a handsome couple. |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 02/17/19 at 05:07 PM A thoroughly enjoyable read, Chris. |
| Posted by Glenn Currier on 02/23/19 at 05:56 PM So much packed into this wonderful poem, Chris. I really love the way it brings you yourself into fuller view and makes my affection for you more firm and soft at the same time. I've had a similar experience with family albums and especially relate to that last stanza. All to often I am left with a mystery thinking of my father and mother and what made them who they were. Thank you so much for this intimate moment. |
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