Writing from
the Memory Club

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Steve Zacharopoulos
ABOUT A MIRACLE
I tried to find a miracle in my life,
and it was impossible.
I thought to fantasize one
and found that impossible, too.
Now, I think I may try
to make myself a part of the miracle.

Miriam Zabbetta
ABOUT HOPE
Shuffling you don't get to China
Sleeping you don't inherit the earth.
Sleeping you can't cross a river.
We can only inherit the earth by sheltering
great ideas, smiling through the pain,
and making hope your bosom friend.

Reina Vargas
ABOUT A DREAM
I remember some dreams from my childhood, like the one where I bathed in a wide river. I was afraid because I didn't know how to swim. Still I tried to cross and when I got to the other side, I found a beautiful garden with so many plants. But what was most surprising was finding grape vines that were creeping across some tables. There were no leaves, just grapes and I was so happy in that place because of its great beauty. There were so many flowers. I wanted to stay and live there forever.

Irma Seguinot
ABOUT FEELING UPSIDE DOWN
Many years ago when I was a child I was sometimes very active. I also liked to watch some boys, who were older than me, play. They would play ball, run, jump over fences and other things, some of these dangerous! One day I saw a boy walking on his hands. I was surprised by this and decided to try it myself. Unfortunately for me, I chose the wrong place to do this. When I tried to stand on my hands and walk, my hands gave up. I fell into a puddle.

Candido Sencion
ABOUT ADVICE
The best advice I ever received.
Listen, Learn, Love.
Thinking about who told me that short sentence, I never realized, until this very moment... You did, Mother, and today, when I could not concentrate on the assignment to write, my only reaction was to thank you. You were right. Again. And I promise myself that whenever I am feeling blank, when nothing comes to mind, you will be beside me repeating:
Listen, Learn, Love.

Leo Pieter
ABOUT EMPTINESS
Emptiness is how you feel when you stop doing everything and pull out the reclining chair, sit down, relax and your eyes look into the distance. You do not think, ask or wonder, there's nothing to look for, no cover to peel back because emptiness is what you feel. Later, when you turn your eyes inward and face the mirror of your soul, you search for feelings, and searching like this, you see no colors, like blue for hope, green for good expectations, copper for courage, even gray for perseverance.

Joe Montalvo
ABOUT JUNK
I have one junk drawer because my wife hogs up all the others. In my drawer I have everything you can imagine. I have tape cassettes. I have rolls of pennies, quarters. I have screws, nuts, pictures of all my family. Colored pencils. My wife's lip gloss because she doesn't have enough room in her own drawer. Roll-up socks, folded underwear, so much clutter in my drawer that I can't close it any more! Now I had to buy cardboard boxes for all of my cassettes and CDs. I keep my change in my top drawer, but my wife takes it to do the laundry. I tell her to stop looking into my drawers, but it goes into one ear and out the other. So I just give up, and let it be. Amen.

Anna Collins
ABOUT GETTING READY
Sometimes it takes me quite a while to get ready. First I have to see what I should wear, what color and what goes with it. Then I try everything on and look in the mirror. If it doesn't look like I think it should, I will change, not just one time but several times! Finally after about a half hour, I'm all set to go!