Remembering

Some words just cling to you

in an uncanny way,

they stick to your ribs,

or the roof of your mouth,

like chunky peanut butter

that’s been out of the fridge

overnight. . .

words which roll easily off

your lips, like the word,

“mimayskomai” in Greek,

which means to remind

yourself of something,

even something you’re not

really sure you ever knew

. . .but you do, at some

visceral level, which you can’t

even begin to explain

to yourself or others.

It’s this kind of remembering

we all do when we ride a bike,

even after years of being sedentary

for years and years,

or driving a car, when we’ve been

driven around in a city for far too long

by someone else, whose meter was running.

“mimayskomai”, Mim A. Sko My. . .

It’s automatic, like the muse struggling

to capture your attention, even when

all you want to do is update your status

on some “social media” site.

Sometimes I wish I could remember

where my car keys are

in this same, mystical, unconscious

manner. But it doesn’t work quite

like that, as keys have been

fashioned by machinery

which are internally resistant

to this kind of remembering.

Tough luck you say. You’d like

to have it that way, but the universe

is just not cooperating with your

every whim, so get used to it, and

start mim-ays-komy-ing something

that really makes a difference

in somebody’s life. . .like perhaps

your best friend’s birthday,

or your parent’s anniversary.

You can do this, and you don’t even

have to “try” to, really, you can.

Just remember, recall, or bring

to mind, that despite

all of your initial gut feelings,

you really aren’t the center

of your universe. Just remember

this one thing and everything

else will work out for you,

better than you could ever

imagine. Go ahead, let it stick

to your ribs, or the roof of your

mouth, like chunky peanut butter

and let it roll gently off your lips:

Mim-ay-sko-My. . .oh my.

-C.A. McCoy

(c) 2012