memory trophy
June 13, 2018my memory trophy is the heaviest thing
containing all the density of my experience
in the night sounds of the open dessert
in the rareness of privacy
after a long watch in a tower spent between daydreams
the joy of a morning shave and a hot shower without mortars
a hot meal and to be free of sand for a short time
my mothers phone voice today
writing a check in some tent for a block of contraband
taking 7 years to get a Bachelors degree etc.
so many memories crowded together
and like old friends they’ll show up from time to time to check in
so I built an armature with 4 arms rising up to a brass plumb bob
letting its pull register the gravitational center of its mass down to one point
made to hover just above the stainless
I was there so I can pick which letters are burnt in well and good
letting a white hot laser burn so accurately
engraving its measure, and encasing it in wood and steel thats solid and stable
and when I added up 3 years + 2 weeks + 5 days since deployed from home
I gave my own memory balance, texture and significance
a new artifact to be read and understood and reimagined
to be known when I’m not there