A TRIP DOWN MEMORY LANE

This is a trip down memory lane, exactly the way I intended it to be.

The moment I step onto the small island I feel as if I am stepping back

into the past. I am my teenage self again, wandering the streets with 

my best friend. Two young girls full of mischief and laughter. 

We roamed these streets together like two stray cats, 

understanding each other blindly. 

I am sitting near Santa Maria della Salute, 

feet dangling in the water while I savor my figs. 

They will forever be the taste of Italy to me.

Remembering how we would live on ice-cream back then, 

tasting a new flavor with every cone we bought, 

grinning from ear to ear licking our  share of lampone,

limone and vaniglia.  

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camera: bronica sq-a

film: kodak portra 160

© nicole sprekelmann

STARE

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camera: bronica sq-a

film: kodak tri-x

© nicole sprekelmann

LOST AND CONFUSED

So what to do when the fog is slowly closing in on you?

You can feel it settling onto your skin, gripping you with it's

cold and wet fingers, giving you the shivers.

So what to do when the it is slowly closing in on you, 

blocking your view and making you stumble?

Trying to find your way through its dense little droplets.

So what to do when the fog is clouding your vision

and you don't know what is right and what is wrong,

Not knowing  which direction to turn, feeling all 

lost and confused.

What to do when all there is to see are those memories.

Memories and the fog. So what to do?

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camera: bronica sq-a

film: tri-x, expired

© nicole sprekelmann

MOM, I LOVE YOU!

The darkest of summers, filled with so much pain, so many

agonizing emotions, filled with fear and still so much hope.

The darkest of summers is leaving a battlefield behind, so many

bruises and painful memories. 

The darkest of summers has left me feeling all helpless and

alone, facing so much emptiness, so much loss. The mind

cannot even understand what is happening.

The darkest of summers.

The last laugh so long ago that I can 

hardly hear the sound of it anymore. 

The last hug a month ago. 

The last word more than a week ago. 

The last glance yesterday.

The last touch and kiss a few hours ago.

The last breath today. 

Find peace.

I love you

mom.

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camera: bronica sq-a

film: kodak portra 160 nc, expired

location: beloved mattsee, place of our summers

© nicole sprekelmann

ETERNITY

The old magnolia in my back garden has been giving shade for decades.

The first rays of spring sun start kissing my skin while I am sitting underneath

this old tree, that has seen so many springs. I am mesmerized

by the soft magentas and whites that dance around in the soft breeze. A slight scent

lingers, mixing with the scent of my morning coffee. I am looking up, into those 

countless leaves, willing my brain to take in this stunning picture in for eternity.

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camera: bronica sq-a

film: kodak portra 160 nc, expired

© nicole sprekelmann