Listen to this poem using the player above.
This poem was inspired by Normanskill poet Alan Casline’s poem “My Navajo Butterfly Song.”
Seeing Eye
(for Alan Casline)
The Navajo sign said “no photos” —
I prefer to think of it as advice, not warning,
encouraging us to capture images with the lenses of our eyes,
to store them on our natural hard drives.
“Doesn’t anybody ever just remember anything anymore?”
George Carlin asked. He was right.
We’ve become victims of instant nostalgia,
our minds grown lazy, our brains soft.
It’s so bad that I’ve forgotten the first line of this very poem,
and the way my sons looked when they were born.
My therapist said chronic depression impairs
the memory centers of the brain, causes
gaps
in the remembered narrative. That was a relief to hear.
I always wondered why my life was a highlight reel,
the entire three-plus decades condensed into three-plus minutes,
like always seeing the bus but never being hit by it.
The Navajo sign said “no photos.”
Pretty smart, those Navajo.
i have gaps in my memory, too. and i love these lines:
It’s so bad that I’ve forgotten the first line of this very poem,
and the way my sons looked when they were born.
Thanks, Carolee. I’m glad you liked the poem.