© Julie Pernet – From Ashes

From ashes

“The space has become smaller. I cannot recognize the shape of it anymore.
Where am I? Who was I before all this?
When clouds used to be just a few and not so many.
I remember a time when everything was lighter. There was no pandemic, no damned inflation, no gloomy future. I belatedly cherish what has been stolen from us.

This comfortable place built of hope. Can light disappear forever?

I dive, you dive, we dive.
We extract layers of dust, looking for what is left.
And we find treasures.
The taste of smiling, the smell of colours. It is all there. These tiny things whose enjoyment was once within our reach.
How could I have taken all this for granted?

I rebuild, you rebuild, we rebuild.
With the sand under our feet, with the stones that buried us, on the ashes of our memories. We have aged.
We are 37, 46, 58, 72 and more.
We are in touch. With one another,
But most importantly, with ourselves.”