Read

"Souvenir"

Published:
November 28, 2023
December 12, 2022
Read "Souvenir", a poem about memories.|Read "Souvenir", a poem about memories.

We didn’t know the word mean to remember
or that the lake of our childhood vacations—
Okoboji—was once Okoboozhy,
Which, in Santee Sioux, meant rushes.
The only rushes I remember were our bare
feet fleeing the dumpy cabin called Dopey
(all seven named for Snow White’s dwarves),
dodging sand burrs and bees, the minute Mom declared
the post-breakfast-half-an-hour-wait-to swim over.

These days Jill and I don’t speak our middle
sister’s name as often as we did the first few
years after she died at fifty-nine. But it’s the end
of June when we’d meet our cousins there,
so we call her back, her name thick in our talk
as the silken fluff from cottonwoods floating
over the water, like fairies we almost believed in.
The way we now try to believe in a clear blue lake
where we’re all bobbing up and down,
right this minute, beyond time, singing
“Travelin’ Man,” the song our cousin Dougie,
almost as handsome as Ricky Nelson, taught us.
We’d never walked on the shores of the Waikiki,
but figured they were like the Okoboji beach
stained scarlet by flame and flamingo sunsets.

Remember, Jill asks, how we’d save our allowance
for weeks and weeks for the souvenir shops
(sometimes called trading posts)? We loved
the plastic dolls dressed in beaded buckskin,
never reading the elegy in their lovely faces,
their eyes that opened and closed. If we couldn’t
afford them, we’d settled for other treasures.
Jill went for bags of polished pebbles,
Jen for a “turquoise” ring or bracelet.

Remember the year Jen chased a toad—
fat as a change purse full of dimes and nickels—
till she caught it and it peed in her palm?
Remember our shock when Mom let her
bring it home and make a house for it
in a window well? How could I not
remember the soft heart—or sense
of humor—that could stare into such an ugly,
ancient gaze and name it Dollface?
Who needed a prince-like travelin’ man
when you could hold in your hand
the living heartbeat of Lake Okoboji?

Creators:
Judith Sornberger
Published:
November 28, 2023
December 12, 2022
On a related note...
Capturing Beauty Along American Highways

Capturing Beauty Along American Highways

Grotto

The Moment I Discovered I'm Introverted — and Embraced It

The Moment I Discovered I'm Introverted — and Embraced It

Lucy Cobble

"Examination"

"Examination"

Lesley Clinton

Meatless Friday Recipe: Tortilla de Patatas

Meatless Friday Recipe: Tortilla de Patatas

Grotto

6 Things I Learned From a Month of Sliding Into DMs

6 Things I Learned From a Month of Sliding Into DMs

Olivia T. Taylor

6 Sustainable Gift Ideas for the Holidays

6 Sustainable Gift Ideas for the Holidays

Lauren Lawson

Where to Find Hope During a COVID Christmas

Where to Find Hope During a COVID Christmas

Theresa Sullivan

“Perfect as You Are”

“Perfect as You Are”

Robert Christian

Free Download: Essentials for Hosting Friendsgiving

Free Download: Essentials for Hosting Friendsgiving

Grotto

Free Download: How to Pray with Icons

Free Download: How to Pray with Icons

Grotto

Coexisting with Colobus Monkeys

Coexisting with Colobus Monkeys

Grotto

Boxer Mike Lee: From Pain to Purpose

Boxer Mike Lee: From Pain to Purpose

Grotto

What Our First Year of Marriage Taught Us About Compromise

What Our First Year of Marriage Taught Us About Compromise

Mariah Cressy

"Bike Man" Has Kept His Community Moving for Decades

"Bike Man" Has Kept His Community Moving for Decades

Grotto

Podcast Recs from the Grotto Community

Podcast Recs from the Grotto Community

Grotto

What It Looks Like to Find Love After Heartbreak

What It Looks Like to Find Love After Heartbreak

Isaac Huss

Show up With an Open Heart, and Just Stay

Show up With an Open Heart, and Just Stay

Elizabeth Abrams

Inspired By His Sister With Sickle Cell Anemia

Inspired By His Sister With Sickle Cell Anemia

Grotto

Want to Live More Intentionally? Channel Your Inner Monk

Want to Live More Intentionally? Channel Your Inner Monk

Isaac Huss

Understanding Family Life as a School for Growth

Understanding Family Life as a School for Growth

Paul Mitchell

newsletter

We’d sure love to be pals.

Like what you see? Make it easy on yourself and we’ll meet you right in your inbox next time.