Memories in a Box

My memory boxes help me to look back in retrospect and remember

Every painfully sour day, every sugar-sweet one too

something I can’t live without

something I simply can't fathom losing

my memory boxes, all my favorite possessions

without it, my life would feel incomplete

From the water bottle from our first football game together

To the letter he wrote me when he ended us.

I still remember.

From the silver necklace he gave me on Valentine’s day with his initial on it

To the drawings he made for me in class

I still remember.

Even though he doesn’t love me anymore

The memories still hold all that love.

I think those two things can coexist 

Heartbreak and happiness

Every wristband from every concert

Every ticket from every movie

Dying petals from every rose he ever gave me

Every small detail, I still remember

thanks to my memory boxes, my prized possessions, 

I still remember.

So, even though he doesn’t love me anymore

I can keep the bracelets he gave me,

The sweet notes he left in my locker,

Every small detail,

 I still remember.

Even though our love was lost, our memories are still alive

without my memory boxes, those memories would fade 

but because I kept every detail important to us,

To me,

I know that I will be okay.

My memory boxes preserve my memories

No, I don’t throw anything away

Even the smallest of gestures, I keep.

Even though it makes me sad knowing he’s gone,

I can keep the memories and remember the fun times we had together

Without my memory boxes, what would I have to remember us,

When I’m grey and old?

These memories are priceless, yet they could never be sold.

From the dress I wore when he told me he loved me for the first time,

To the wrapper from the lollipop he bought me at the fair,

To the letter he sent me in despair,

I need these memories to help me grow

To remember what life was like long ago.

Every sweet day, every sour one too, I remember you.