Treacherous Memory

Memory is treacherous,
Catches you unawares.
Stops you when you’re ironing
Trips you on the stairs.
You wonder why it comes to you
That image from the past
The one you can’t keep hold of
Though in your heart it lasts
A smell, a sound, a whisper
A woolly jumper’s feel
Memory takes a photograph
And adds it to life’s reel
Then one day it slips a frame
Bright before your eyes
Sometimes memory makes you laugh
Sometimes it makes you cry

© Jane Jago 2019