I still write the curves of my letters the same way a friend used to,<\/p>\n
all the way back in middle school.<\/p>\n
She was my confidante, once.<\/p>\n
We haven\u2019t spoken in years now.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I still read books late at night, when everyone else has already gone to sleep.<\/p>\n
My mother used to do the same, at my age.<\/p>\n
She scolds me about it, but never too much.<\/p>\n
She still does it even now, I think.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I still brush my fingers over the books in my grandfather\u2019s library<\/p>\n
the way I remembered him do when he carried me there with him.<\/p>\n
He died when I was three.<\/p>\n
My grandmother always tears up when I ask to go upstairs.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I still listen to the songs my best friend showed me, in a language only she understands.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t mind. They sound nice. I play them on repeat<\/p>\n
when the eight-hour flight between us makes me feel alone.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I still laugh loudly at a good story, the way my father does,<\/p>\n
though my laughter is nowhere near as thundering as his. He never tells me it\u2019s unlady-like.<\/p>\n
We just laugh together as my mother covers her ears.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I still bake the same chocolate cake my aunt taught me, too dark and yet too sweet,<\/p>\n
A flavor shared like a secret between us.<\/p>\n
An entire continent separates us, now.<\/p>\n
I send her a picture of my cake on her birthday, and she sends me a kiss.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
I am a mosaic of all the people I have met<\/p>\n
Known<\/p>\n
Cherished<\/p>\n
Loved<\/p>\n
I am a canvas of colors and dissonant brushstrokes<\/p>\n
Of all the people that passed me by in life,<\/p>\n
Even briefly, even for a moment,<\/p>\n
Even forgotten, even at odds.<\/p>\n
I gather the legacies they leave behind<\/p>\n
And piece them together.<\/p>\n
Pull me apart<\/p>\n
And you\u2019ll find everyone I\u2019ve ever known.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I still write the curves of my letters the same way a friend used to, all the way back in middle school. She was my confidante, once. We haven\u2019t spoken in years now. I still read books late at night, when everyone else has already gone to sleep. My mother used to do the … Continue reading “The Legacies People Leave Behind”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_ppma_block_editor_authors":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[3],"class_list":["post-1289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-free-verse"],"authors":[{"term_id":3,"user_id":1,"is_guest":0,"slug":"m-festaaui-ma","display_name":"m.festa@aui.ma","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/65449cb1068226a14ef9126b1a35129494d168d8031b0176a86c009da34bf92c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","avatar_alt":"","avatar_decorative":"","author_category":"","user_url":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma","last_name":"Festa","first_name":"Monica","job_title":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1289","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1289"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1290,"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1289\/revisions\/1290"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1289"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trove.aui.ma\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fppma_author&post=1289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}