On my way home, and: The bag, and: Stories

On my way home, and: The bag, and: Stories Laura Zucca-Scott (bio) On my way home (Inspired by my father's memories) I almost fell asleep on my way homeThe truck was loud on the bumpy roadThe fear was still therehiding behind any sudden lightThe bombs had stopped fallingbut my heart was still beating fastAny noise would make me jump My head was resting on my mother's shoulderShe had been there every single daymaking delicious recipes out of potatoescarrying the last glimmer of hopethat my father would come back from the warand I could be a child again, just one day more The truck's dimmed lights shone on the pinesThe trees looked like tall sentinels in the darkThey wore wide white stripes nowpainted on their trunks to mark the roadI wondered how it would feel to just stand thereA still shadow in a world of chaos When we arrived, my grandma ran toward memy mother slightly behind carrying the heavier loadmy grandpa helping her, his back a little curvedwith age and strain. We did not talkWe did not need words that nightWe were home, at last [End Page 228] The bag MemoriesThey come backI see your gentle smileand your fierce eyes I remember whenyou showed upwith a new travel bagYou knew I needed oneYou folded my clothesso carefully inside it For days, I tried not to unfold themI wanted to keep themthe way they wereEventually, I emptied my bagbut that old shirt you gave mestill hangs in my closetI am just afraid to wear itI keep the memoriessafe in my mind [End Page 229] Stories Your storiesare like spiderwebscapturing a moment When the sun reflectsthe light in a quiet shimmerI become lost and entangledand travel miles and milesin distance and time Then one single threadbreaks with a tremorof elusive freedom Nothing is safenot even memories [End Page 230] Laura Zucca-Scott laura zucca-scott, Ph.D., is a bilingual writer and educator. Her works have been published, in English and Italian, in several journals and anthologies. In December 2023, she was the recipient of the Third Prize of the ACSI International Literary Prize, "Florence, Capital of Europe," Section A, Italy.