Then one morning shed begun to feel her sorrow easing, like something jagged that had cut into her so long it had finally dulled its edges, worn itself down. That same day Rachel couldnt remember which side her father had parted his hair on, and shed realized again what shed learned at five when her mother left that what made losing someone you loved bearable was not remembering but forgetting. Forgetting the small things first, the smell of the soap her mother had bathed with, the color of the dress shed worn to church, then after a while the sound of her mothers voice, the color of her hair. It amazed Rachel how much you could forget, and everything you forgot made that person less alive inside you until you could finally endure it. After more time passed you could let yourself remember, even want to remember. But even then what you felt those first days could return and remind you the grief that was still there, like old barbed wire embedded in a trees heartwood. (51)
About This Quote
About Ron Rash, Serena
Ron Rash, Serena.
Themes
- Death — Contemplations on mortality, loss, and the legacy we leave