Nostalgia is a tricky feeling. I've read a couple articles here and there that talk about how nostalgia is often inaccurate to what the past was really like. Meaning, we may look back upon a period in our life in a very fond and positive manner, while completely neglecting the negatives or unpleasantness that we may have gone through during that period. It's almost as if our minds choose to cherry pick and focus on the pockets of joy. In my opinion, at least, that's not such a bad thing.
It's fascinating to learn about the human psyche and how our minds often interpret things differently from reality. I find myself succumbing to the pangs of nostalgia all too often. I don't know why, but I've always had a tendency to ruminate on the 'good old days'. To quote Andy from The Office,
"I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you actually left them."
I wrote this poem when I was feeling almost severely nostalgic. I guess I was trying to express the bitterness of longing for something that you know will never come back. Maybe when they finally invent time machines this will no longer be a problem. In any case, I do hope you enjoy this piece, let me know your thoughts in the comments below, and do subscribe to receive notifications when I post!
Fleetingly despondent seconds...
Everything but time
Stood still
That day,
When
Nostalgia slipped through
Outstretched palms
To form chains around
The souls of arms
Whose hearts did beat
Against the cold
Bound feet
That pressed
Unto the blades of stars
Whilst breaths burned
The dead, black scars
That would come
To release
The blood
That would flood
The gates
Of a heaven
That resigned to fates. What is that dawn at the horizon?
© 2021 Shreya Alagramam
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