This Practice by Ada Limon

This Practice
by Ada Limon

They say the first thing that goes
is the short-term memory. We forget
our keys, we forget the address,
we forget the name of the president.
I like to think it’s just a matter of practice—
we’ve had more time to practice the memory
of our brother’s face, our favorite light,
the creek that runs down the center of town.

I want to practice. Like the Russian soldier
who had to make up a word to say how
hard he would fight, said he would fight
fiercefully, that’s how I will remember you,
that’s how I will practice—fierce fully.

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Practice. Practice. Everything is practice. And I recently said to a dear friend, “Damn practice”, but it awaits me and receives me and I want to bring that fierce-full-ness to my practice. Memory here is part of our practice of belonging.

Ada Limón, "This Practice," in Sharks in the Rivers (Minneapolis: Milkweed Editions, 2010