Ode to Memory by Diana Raab

From the moment I rise in the morning
how I remember everything—

where my slippers sleep,

how to get downstairs,

where to find my dog

and how to brew my coffee.


I love to remember

my first coffee in a Parisian café
with grandpa at age sixteen—
strong espresso and sugar cube,
and how the server was so kind.

I will always remember
not what people do for me,
nor what they say,
but how they make me feel.


I will always remember my first love,
how and where it happened,
the sound of his name,
and how he held me,

and how scared
we were when blood gushed from me
onto his parent’s bed,
them at movie theater,
and how embarrassed I was,
yet how close it made us.


I’ll always remember
the feeling of being loved
in that way—for the very first time.

About the Poet:

Diana Raab, PhD, is an award-winning memoirist, poet, blogger, speaker, and author of 10 books and is a contributor to numerous journals and anthologies. She’s also editor of two anthologies, “Writers on the Edge: 22 Writers Speak About Addiction and Dependency,” and “Writers and Their Notebooks.” Raab’s two memoirs are “Regina’s Closet: Finding My Grandmother’s Secret Journal,” and “Healing With Words: A Writer’s Cancer Journey.”

She blogs for Psychology Today, Thrive Global, Sixty and Me, Good Men Project, and Wisdom Daily and is a frequent guest blogger for various other sites.

Her two latest books are, “Writing for Bliss: A Seven-Step Plan for Telling Your Story and Transforming Your Life,” and “Writing for Bliss: A Companion Journal.”