Skyward Revisited
- Joie Lesin
- Jul 4
- 2 min read
Updated: Jul 5
Memories of Fireworks on the 4th of July
Every year on my birthday—and other days, too—I revisit an event that has become a favorite memory. And as if there is magic afoot, when I recall those particular 4th of July fireworks, I'm instantly transported back to childhood.
I wrote about it last year and am sharing it again—below.
Memories of childhood become faded things.
Sometimes the details escape us. So, we fill them in with our imagination and they become a mixture of fact and fiction.
What never escapes us is how the event caused us to feel. We fully remember the poignancy, the happiness, or the sadness without regard to what our mind fills in to complete the recollection.
One such flashback for me is my fourth birthday. I remember it as my fourth but even here my memory is sketchy. I recall the trip to and from, my oldest brother—who is fifteen years older—carrying me over the empty train tracks to a clearing in a patch of grass where we would watch the fireworks. Just the two of us—and this very special moment.
I've always looked up to him and even then, I knew I wanted to write stories just as he did. Because of him, I understood what it meant to use my imagination and create stories like those in the books my mother read to me.
On this special birthday, he and I sat in the grass where he pointed to the bursts of red, blue, and white exploding in the summer night sky. "See those," he said to me, "they're for you. To celebrate your birthday."
SKYWARD
Under
the city’s sky,
she found herself.
Beneath
the smokestacks,
she rose.
Above,
the clouds showed her freedom
and she followed.
Before I forget—I wrote a follow-up post to the original Skyward last September. Read it here: https://www.jlesin.com/post/memories-and-the-fiction-writer
Until next time,
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About the Author
Award-winning author, Joie Lesin is a life-long fiction writer and poet. She is most recently the author of The Passenger. She has long been fascinated by anything otherworldly including mermaids and ghosts. Joie writes character-driven, emotional, atmospheric tales about heartache and hope.
