Sylvia Wynter's Dream

Prompt: Memory only matters for the future.

As time goes on, we lose ourselves in the tick of the clock. Forever lost in the haunting chimes, we are swept away even further by the hands of our mortality. That has been the way of the world since it began. People come and go and as the generations multiply, the past is forgotten. The only things that remain is the artifacts that we leave behind. However, for now, some of us can still see our reflections. Our reflections are temporary, just like our memories. They change and are washed away by the passage of time.

Well, I wish I could remember but I do not remember. However, what I do remember has been twisted and changed to fit the narrative of others. Those memories probably aren’t even real. Our people have forgotten and now they are at war amongst themselves. These people don’t know that some of their ancestors were once powerful leaders in their homeland. They don’t know the pride of wearing their brown skin . They don’t embrace their hair, which mimics the pillows of the sky. They are one of the treasures of the Earth but they don’t know that. What they do know, however, is the pain and sorrow of their ancestors.

All that joy was swept away in the fields of labour. Our ancestors probably tried to remember their past but it was all forgotten. The languages, their life in the homeland, some of their culture, almost everything! Now, they had to try to fit in with the new standards. Their memories faced destruction and the newer generations forgot their past.

Now, we are a different set of people. People who were broken but are now trying to remember our roots. With help from leaders such as Marcus Garvey and Malcom X, our people are getting on their feet. They are beginning to remember who they are but from a different perspective. Sadly though, the loss of those vital memories has been detrimental to the development of our community. It set us back centuries behind. Instead of growing on our past, we spent years trying to rediscover who we are. We spent years trying to love that person we see in the mirror. Years were spent trying to regain the knowledge of our skillsets. All that time has been lost, with the memories!

Although our memories have been lost, we are still resilient in the face of time. Memories may go but we are creating new memories for the future generations. Dead memories do not mean dead people. From dead memories, new memories are birthed.