Since high school, I never stayed somewhere for long. I always moved. The first time I moved is when I was 12, to study at a school that took us five hours drive from home. I even moved further when I graduated, to the United States. My memories with places are sometimes mixed up, but often times, the objects I own remind me of the time I forgot.
When I moved, I couldn’t bring everything with me. Sometimes I needed to give up on things that save my precious memories. People say that everything is in our head and heart, but I still prefer having a tangible proof of it. This project actually plays with my emotions a lot. After picking the objects that are small enough for a time capsule, I introduced myself to them once again. I touched the objects, felt the memories from their textures, the smells, and all the flaws.
Then I decided to write a poem for each object, to remind me of what we had been through, and what still left in my mind. I chose Twitter as a medium because it’s a platform that I use for sharing things to myself and don’t expect any reactions from other people.
The film camera
walking on a long road,
surrounded by high, big trees
i see the bright sky when looking up,
jumped, ran, and smile to the sea
holding a small camera
turned the lens and shoot
i snapped the moment of happiness
of the summer, friendship, story and youth
The Omamori
at the subway exit
it was busy on the street outside
i walked slowly, among the rush
then turned right
to the entrance of spirits and peace
i see a simple pathway
and the forest in front of me
wood, trees, and the sun ray
washed the left hand and the right
wrote my wishes to a small wooden plaque
i felt the calmness
i felt me
i felt the small, big world of my own
The Movie Ticket
sitting in a small, old theater
for the first time there and alone
listened to the language i don’t understand
let the play showed on its own
the red car, the dark road, and simple dialogues
the hair tied, the blue shirt, and two hands on the wheel
at the backseat,
he spoke the same lines from the radio tape
from tokyo, to hiroshima, to hokkaido
they were driving
to the same old and the new roads
while i was sitting at the same spot
for the entire time
The Amulet
fifteen years ago
a young girl got a special gift from her grandfather
a small amulet
he said to her,
“to protect you”
she didn’t know the meaning
but she was very happy
the girl always wore it on her neck
until the day of the funeral
of the grandfather
she still felt the protection
not from the amulet
but from the person who gave it
sometimes,
she dreamt about him
sometimes,
she thought of him
although she’s not wearing the amulet
she always carries it around
because she knows
when she needs a protection
her grandpa will always be with her
Reflection
When I wrote the poems, I actually felt like going back to the time I had with these objects. This process made me reflect on my own memories, the actions, thoughts, and even the mistakes I made. I really enjoyed working on this assignment, and am excited to create a time capsule to keep these items for my future self to see and feel them once again.