By Rachel Young

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This poem represents the unearthing of old memories from the past and the things I used to treasure that I must now surrender to time.

I dig out all the things in my drawers and cabinets once a year.  
A flashlight from middle school graduation
Red with white letters 
But the light doesn’t flicker on. 
A stack of notebooks with a coat of dust are slid out from underneath my bed
vibrant fuschia, an earthy green, and tropical floral print.

I pick through post it notes 
with step by step algebra and lists of daily homework assignments.
Old SAT practice exams with my corrections in red pen
And ‘I can do this’ scribbled in the margins when I got stressed mid-test.
Everything that seemed so new and so difficult 
is simple to me now.

I pack and unpack trash bags
Of fourth grade bedazzled shirts and multicolored yarn sweaters.
Reorganize drawers and buy new methods of storage.  
I throw all my clothes on my bed 
To try and discard my middle school graphic tees with words like
You’re on point!, Slow your roll, and Crushed it.

But then I neatly pack everything back up
To care for them another year.
Versions of myself I look back on,
But I still feel the need to protect. 
I unwillingly surrender myself to time
And the memories all around me.