Unencumbered

By débora Ewing
Any sensation can trigger memory: a smell, a sound, a song. Tonight it's a specific temperature and humidity combined with sodium lighting and just the right curve of a very flat road under a full moon between green trees and black sky. I turn off the radio so I can try to remember what was playing then. I remember being happy.

I don't know where I was the first time - I think Texas or Oklahoma. I was carefree, cruising in someone else's car, nothing left to lose. Unencumbered. It was nice to transport back there for a moment, to know I'd felt this way before like I feel it now. That means I can feel it again in the future; it's not specific to a time or space. I own this happiness and this beautiful night. The sky is amazing and the moon looks so proud.

The freedom of fetters loosened comes after hardship and pain, like a mermaid losing her tail and gaining legs. Awkward, bumpy, gashes on the sole. I can do what I want without upsetting someone else's stability. I can mourn what's been lost without regret, and this is a rare and extravagant feeling. I wish for all of you...no, I don't.

My path is my own and it's not wise of me to recommend it to anyone else. Find your path. If where you stand right now feels wrong, it probably is. Inch forward until your footing is sure, and then

take
a
really big step.
Rinse, repeat, until you are home.


Further Listening:

Dry - William Elliott Whitmore
This is what I'm listening to on the way to work most mornings. The Song of the Blackbird is one of the best concept albums ever made. And there's banjo :)

Comments

  1. MariWednesday, 17 July, 2019

    My feet are as firmly planted as anyone who has been on and off 11 airplanes this year already can be. LOL

    ReplyDelete
  2. LindaFriday, 19 July, 2019

    Lovely. I find smells evoke the strongest memories. They can instantly transport me to another time and place.

    ReplyDelete

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