WHAT I KEPT

by Kelly White Arnold                                                                                                          

(with gratitude to Jaki Shelton Green, who said, “What we keep, keeps us.”)


A pair of honest to God
blue suede wooden clogs,
a tiny chip of a diamond
set into a yellow and white gold band
two v-neck sweaters in navy and green,
one with a button missing on the cuff,
an eleven year old thank you note
signed “Love, Mom” in shaky penmanship,
a set of Michael C. Fina glasses
(that neither of us have ever used)
given for opening a bank account at First Union,
a red scarf,
thousands of yellowing photos,
edges curled by age,
the turquoise dress and
jacket set
you wore to my first wedding
(the knot that didn’t stay tied):
You, Mama,
tucked into drawers,
closets, and trunks,
hiding out in my attic,
in the set of my cheekbones,
alive in the bridge of my nose,
the name on my
baby’s birth certificate.


* * * * *

The quote in the attribution is used with Jaki Shelton Green's permission.

"What I Kept" was first published in WALTER Magazine (November 2023)

Kelly White Arnold is a mom, writer, high school English teacher, and lover of yoga. When she's not scribbling in notebooks or wrangling teenagers, she's planning her next tattoo and daydreaming about traveling the world.