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Monday, April 10, 2017

"The Art Of Letting Go (Summer of 1923)" by Lydia N


     This morning I find it extremely difficult to get out of bed. Pain is wrapped around my
body like a thick blanket. My chest feels like it was hit with a ton of bricks and my stomach feels
like someone squeezed the life out of it. I cry from the pain but each breath gets shorter than the
last. However, this isn’t the first time this episode has occurred. For some peculiar reason, every
July 15th for the past thirteen years, I’ve been experiencing the same level of pain I’m currently
facing.
     For the next, what feels like an hour, I suffer in silence until I hear my door creak open.
My housekeeper/caregiver, Carol, pokes her head in my room and greets me, then she asks if
there’s any work she needs to do. I mumble an inaudible,“No,” and she starts to realize the state
I'm in. “Miss are you alright?,” she asks. Tears start to burst from my eyes and all I can say is,
“Jeremy.” “Jeremy, who is Jeremy?,”asks Carol. “My-my husband, he still hasn’t come back. He
promised, he promised!,”I cry out. “Oh that’s right,”Carol begins to remember who he is. “Miss,
remember you told me that your husband passed away many years ago in an automobile
accident? Do you remember what day he passed away?,”she asks.“I know it was some time
during the summer. We were on a road trip and we lost track of the date,”I say. Then I start to
piece everything together. “Oh my goodness, I-I think it's today. Maybe-maybe,” I can’t seem to
finish my sentence. “That’s why you're in pain? You’re still heartbroken from his passing.
Forgive me, but I think it’s time to let him go,”she says. That last comment sets me off, “HOW
IN THE WORLD, DO YOU EXPECT ME TO DO THAT! You don’t know how beautiful of a
person he was”, I cry out. Just the thought of letting him go wounds me. “I’m so sorry Miss, I
didn’t mean to say that. I kno-”, I didn’t let her finish. “Just leave. Now!,” I shout.
     For the next few minutes Carol’s suggestion keeps running through my mind nonstop.
How could I let go of the man who was my first love, who was willing to risk his reputation to
love someone like me? Now that the pain is starting to ease off, I slowly roll off the bed and
search for a pen and paper. I enjoy writing poems and songs because it helps calm me down
especially during moments like now. As soon as I find them in the drawer, I climb to my bed and
begin to reminisce about the time I met Jeremy. The paper with the help of my pen starts to
capture the ups and downs of our marvelous relationship. However, instead of recapping our
relationship through a poem or a song, I wrote it as a monologue:
     Summer of 1923 was the time we first laid eyes on each other. I was serenading the audience
with jazz in front of a group of people with judgemental looks on their face because obviously, I
was different. The more I sang the more I felt uncomfortable until I saw your reassuring brown
eyes, I felt equal. That day I realized that we felt the same way about each other but we lived in a
world that was black and white and the rules of society made it impossible for the colors to
intermingle. We didn’t care, no, it was going to be us against the world! Yeah, we faced
discrimination among others including our own families, but as long as we had each other we
didn't need anyone else. But in the end, the world won and you were the casualty. In my eyes
you are not a casualty. You are still the same man I laid eyes on twenty years ago and I hope that
one day people can learn from our story. Love is more powerful than all the evils of this world.
Just like that I begin to realize that even though it’s tough, I have to let him go. I can’t
continue to let this tragedy consume my well being. I know he not only would’ve wanted what’s
best for my health but also he would’ve wanted me to share the love we had for each other with
others someday. Eventhough he’s gone, I will always have this monologue to remember him. I
have to admit that it's going to take some time, but in the end everything will be okay.

21 comments:

  1. Lydia, I love your inspiration for this! It translates so well from the original, you have such an amazing talent for creating such a vivid imagine through your words, it makes you feel as if you're really there witnessing this. This piece gets to me every time I've encountered it and each time I've found something I like about it even more! You are such an exceptional writer, I love the set up into the monologue and the way you wrapped it all up in the end. It is very hard to let go of the things that we love and you depicted that so well, I could really feel the emotions within this piece. Great job! This really is so great!

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  2. This was such a good piece one of my favorites! The imagery and your capability to form sentences that flowed so easily grabbed my attention from the start and has me only wishing there was more. Your use of dialog made the story come alive, you did a very good job!

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  3. I really loved this story Lydia! You did a wonderful job grabbing the attention of the reader right from the beginning of the story by describing the character's pain. The first sentence really made me want to continue reading. I like how much detail you put into the first time the main character met Jeremy. It gives the reader some background on their relationship and why she feels this way in the present. Overall, you did a great job Lydia!

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  4. Nothing can ever compensate for the loss of a loved one, and your writing truly signified that! I could genuinely feel the emotions you utilized within this story, and the fact that it took place during a time of extreme discrimination, made it all the more special and important. I loved it!

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  5. What a captivating story of personal tragedy, commitment and strength. Your use of literary devices like metaphors and symbolism were key to clearly and concisely delivering your audience a message of overcoming any obstacle. Wonderful Job !

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  6. I loved how much expression you put into your story. There are people out there that have lost ones years ago and still haven't really gotten over it and I think that your story really could resonate with them. Good job.

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  7. I absolutely loved your piece Lydia! The expression and dialogue was amazingly done as well as the composition of the piece. Also, the point of view your wrote in gave an overall tone to your story. Well done!

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  8. I loved the way you introduced the monologue with the scene between the main character and Carol. And incorporating the narrator to say the monologue to relieve her pain and calm her down was done so smoothly to make it apart of the whole story. The message you provided about love was moving as well!

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  9. This was a very captivating story. The way you introduced the monologue between the character and Carol was very well done. Especially with having the narrator say it which was done smoothly. Overall this was a very well written piece

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  10. I really enjoyed reading your interpretation on the power of love. Not only did you portray its beauty, but you portrayed its pain as well and the raw emotional someone experiences when accepting a loss. I particularly liked the dialogue in the first half of the story because I feel as if it made your characters more realistic.

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  11. Wow, I really enjoyed reading this entry. It was so powerful a and descriptive. I love the fact that it was written before the Civil War Movement and how it captured the beauty of love and how love can overcome even the hardest times. I also love/hate how it captures the pain of losing a significant other because to me, I believe that, that is the worst pain and heart ache a person can go through. How do you cope with losing someone you LEARNED to love? This was a beautiful piece, great job!

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  12. This was such an amazing story. I guess I am just a sucker for love. But it was amazing how I felt every emotion depicted in the story whether it was pain, longing, reminisce, or just plain love. I especially love the time it was set in because it's my favorite era!! I really enjoyed reading this piece!!

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  13. Lydia, this is such an amazing story about falling in love and defying the odds in order to be together. One lesson that people can learn from this is that love transcends all boundaries. Great Job!

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  14. I really loved this story. It was such a captivating piece with so much expression. You did a great job at allowing us to understand it clearly and also enjoy it at the same time. Great job, this is definitely worth the read!

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  15. Great piece Lydia! You did such a great job in conveying and exploring the depth of emotion that the main character felt. Your story throughout kept me wanting to read more. I loved the story line and how you included the reasoning and past story behind the emotional pain felt. Again great job!

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  16. I enjoyed reading your piece where I greatly felt the emotions the character (the one who lost a loved one) felt, especially when she wrote that monologue in order to remember him. The message that I got from this story is that moving on is big helper in many ways when someone dies no matter how much we love them.

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  17. From the first sentence I was hooked! This piece felt so genuine and true to the actuality of heartbreak through loss. Many people have experienced losing someone close to them and don't know how to handle the emotions raging through them. The story you used did a beautiful job of conveying such tragedy.

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  18. I love your story, Lydia. I come from a various amount of interracial couples, and I am so glad to see the world finally changing into one that can each other no matter the pigment of one's skin. Your story means so much to me, being of African-American and Puerto Rican decent, so thank you so much.

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  19. I love the title! It brought me in to read your piece. The first sentence as well it was relatable off the bat. Just by those little things you got me to read the piece and enjoy it great job!

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  20. Your story is so well written. Your use of imagery really sets your story apart because I feel as though I can physically see the pain your character is going through. Great job!

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  21. I really enjoyed reading your piece. I understood the message your story conveyed. The description in the story helped me figure out the mood of the main character. Good Job!

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