Relic

Naomi Elegant

and it comes back to me now,
watching the winter light shift in the afternoon,
very far from where it all was,
it comes back to me — 
the way the trees were, the way
your ears buzzed when you went
out into the quiet air,
the heat, even at night.
especially at night.

and there was a softness,
which I can’t recall anymore,
and there was a feeling
I remember feeling
but now forget how it felt.

oh — and the time,
do you remember — 
time used to pass us differently than it does now.
we wanted everything
to last. I remember wishing even then
that if only I could
grasp
every second
to press between the pages of a book
and preserve for myself, laminate
every moment,
rainproof it all. now
I watch the light shift in February
and wish
it was May.

Bio
Naomi Elegant is a freshman in the College studying history and English literature.  She is essentially from Malaysia, but grew up in Beiing, and enjoys watching movies, criticizing the Wharton school from a Marxist-Leninist perspective, and buying various articles of ripped clothing, much to her mother's consternation.  In her free time she bombards her friends' inboxes with memes, incoherent rants, and photos of dogs.