Old Clothes

The plaintive theme of Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends...

Time it was, and what a time it was, it was
A time of innocence, a time of confidences
Long ago, it must be, I have a photograph
Preserve your memories;
They're all that's left you

... uses photographs to preserve memories. I use my old clothes.

Try as I might to stuff history into a bag for our neighborhood's version of Goodwill, I can't let go of a certain pink robe, certain blue flowered underwear, two oversize black sweaters (threadbare and dating from 1988) and a beautiful but dated gray knit dress.

I don't know what I'm going to do with them, except let them rot in my closet and bureau. Maybe they'll serve as a shroud: bury me in them.

But I can't let them go. They comfort me.