The following piece is published as part of our TLM Young Writers series, a dedicated section of The London Magazine‘s website which showcases the work of exceptional young talent aged between 13-21, from the UK and beyond.

Regina Rosenfeld

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What Remains

Already, I’ve spent too much time sorting through

all that I have let desire bestow upon me—
categorizing the excess of a failed love,

the movie tickets and handwritten letters,
into color-coded boxes:

an attempt to alleviate the heaviness of a shared life
I am still holding within me— with nowhere to put it down.

But is there a place to house all things we are forced to feel by ourselves,
like heartache or longing?

For months, I’ve been digging for an alcove, searching in a fog so thick

I can hardly see the length of my outstretched arm.

Maybe one day, deep below my surface,
a clearing will emerge, surrounded by a gate

I promise I’ll never forget to latch.

Often, I’ve imagined that therein lies a world
where even imagination is free from loss.

For a while, I’ll ask to keep just what I can carry
until I can locate that safe opening

to store what remains

of this once life—
I’m only now beginning to love.

_

 

Regina Rosenfeld is a nineteen-year-old writer living in New York City. She attends Barnard College of Columbia University and is an editor at the Pine Hills Review.

 

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