The place of returns
The sound of shadows comes creeping into my head
Like the thumping of fists in the dust of whys
An uncertainty is it sure to be true
Make this course a labyrinth, another stone in the well
And to hang on not drown, if memory goes backwards then I’m dictating to death how to be alive
For memory is but a resolution in the passing of time
Now this to and fro a morsel thrown to bewitch and beguile
Like a dampened switch tempting to electrify
Or send back again for some other return
Where is this end
Can it scream the pain out
Leave the door open to bring only a smile
There is this dance
Oh yes
In her eyes
Poem written 1 December 2016. The words came after reading "Reputations" by Juan Gabriel Vasquez in which the author uses the line in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice In Wonderland' spoken by the White Queen "Its a poor sort of memory that only works backwards" and considered in conjunction with a prophecy of someone from the past returning in the future. The book has a number of themes but basically is about if what you remembered, that was supported by others, actually wasn't true but had had serious consequences, and might moreso if found to be false. After writing I came across "The Science of Mental Time Travel and Why Our Ability to Imagine the Future is Essential to Our Humanity" - Brain Pickings https//www.brainpickings.org/2014/07/01/mental-time-travel-dan-falk/.
Photo of the Knights Templar Castle of Almourol in Portugal, taken 2015. Roman artefacts have been discovered on the site though the exact date of the Castle is unknown but possibly built on foundations from 1st century B.C.E.