Dawnings
Forgetting
By Nicholas Hooper
Forgetting, losing names, words
finding, remembering a little later.
This is normal for my age, apparently.
But as my world spreads ever wider
I can’t help feeling frustrated with
my shrinking brain. Like a bucket
full of water. Too full now, so
out spills the latest and the earlier
gets buried under an ever-increasing
weight of memories. I need a library
in my brain. A part of me, the
Librarian studiously keeping tabs
on all these names and words that
slip my mind. But who is that
Librarian? And where does he live?
He’s called patience, he’s called kindness,
he’s called calmness, he’s called fearless
and he dwells somewhere in the middle
reminding me to be kind to myself.
And above all, don’t panic just remember
who you really are. Not forgetting that.
—————
About Dawnings:
“Every morning at around 5am I get up and go down to my studio. After a short meditation I write down whatever is in my head, giving myself fifteen minutes to do so. Then moving over to the piano (or a more portable instrument like my Ukulele when I'm away), I improvise and record a piece of music inspired by whatever words I just wrote. It is a great way of keeping both my writing and my composing going and I call these small creations Dawnings. They are mostly unedited, like sketches, so that they keep that fresh feeling of an early morning discovery.”
— Nick Hooper