the engine of our memory
near the lake where doves
this road turns on the lake
where mourning doves
startled whirr
above the quiet inundation
why forgotten nearly
grandmother’s grave
near the water knee-deep
now among cottonwoods
how the birds coo and warble
disconsolate flood waters
beneath the wheels rising
of our Ford Torino old car
submerged the heat of our
lives the lake made whole
to higher ground the engine was
___________
Zeke Sanchez
Review by Margot Brown
Memory often feels dream-like; as if the person remembering is ‘under water’. Within this liquidity, memory undulates like sea weed and plants that grow and move hypnotically in the currents. Under water, they look like they are extending themselves to connect – like discrete thoughts from a larger picture attempting to engage with each other in order to be realized. Sometimes these thoughts connect and reveal themselves to the one struggling to remember. At least as often, they remain discrete, floating in their solitary selves.
One’s vision under water isn’t always clear, either. Although the water is often pristine, sand or silt on the floor of the aqueous body sporadically and spontaneously unsettle through natural activities, temporarily clouding one’s vision, until, once again undisturbed, clarity returns.
This is how I experience “the engine of our memory”. The words undulate, dream-like, as thoughts about memories seek to reunite with themselves. The writer has given us not only parts of his memories but also his sense of how it actually feels to reacquire and connect these pieces that move beneath the surface of his mind.