"I Remember the Room was Filled with Light" by Judith Hemschemeyer

I am taken aback by the sheer honesty present in this poem. Judith Hemschemeyer writes in the voice of one truly remembering a scene with great symbolisms. "They were still young, younger than I am now." Not exact, nor excessively vague, this reading, when read aloud, sounds like the memory of any reader. What's most incredible is the dramatic impact that this very neutral scene had on my emotions as a reader: upon finishing the final line, I was filled with a feeling of contentedness and nostalgia--even despite the fact that I, when I was younger, hated being the messenger between fighting parents, even on the beginning of the end of an argument. Maybe these feelings are a wish about the children that I have--maybe I hope for them to look after their parents, like children should. Maybe I hope just to be involved in the lives of others--to be needed. Isn't that what we all want? I mean, there are instances of thought in which solitude is preferred in the heat of a frustrating moment, but I think this poem really conveys the feeling of being needed and acknowledged by a higher power--in this case, the girl's parents--and that is a very meaningful set of emotions. One that must not be forgotten as we become that higher power.