8gb flash drive / from 2009 / obsolete / but what if / the apocalypse / requires / exactly / 8gb / of storage / and i threw away / the only one / that works / with whatever / computer / survives / the collapse / of everything / more advanced / than this / little rectangle / of possibility /
dad’s handwriting / on paper / ripped from / something larger / my address / in his careful / block letters / the way he writes / numbers / different / from everyone else / the paper / soft now / from handling / from being / one of hundreds / of little pieces / of his love / scattered / through my / memory boxes / proof / that he thinks / of where i live / proof that he / sends things / visits / calls / cares / and still / i save / this one / scrap / as if / i might / forget /
ticket stub / from that movie / that wasn’t even / good / but we laughed / at the wrong parts / and afterward / ate terrible / diner food / and talked / about everything / except / what we / really meant / and now / the ticket / is the only / witness / to that specific / configuration / of us / that will never / happen / again /
1000 registered mail / stickers / from usps / because they were / free / and i thought / i’d use them / all / eventually / for important / things / but how many / important things / can one person / mail / and now / they’re decoration / for notebooks / for memory boxes / for the desperate / attempt / to make / useful / what was always / unnecessary /
pop tabs / in a jar / because someone / once told me / they’re worth / something / to someone / somewhere / but really / because each one / represents / a moment / of thirst / quenched / a choice / made / a day / survived / and throwing them / away / feels like / denying / i was ever / that thirsty / that alive / that here /
cork / from wine / that tasted / like celebration / or like / crying / depending / on the night / but cork / nonetheless / proof / that once / i opened / something / shared / something / finished / something / that required / a corkscrew / and optimism / and the belief / that some things / are worth / preserving /
beer bottles / thank god / i stopped / collecting / those / because glass / takes up / space / and sound / and eventually / you run out / of shelves / for the evidence / of every / friday night / every / small victory / every / reason / to open / something / and pretend / it solved / anything / at all /
matchbook / from restaurant / that closed / during pandemic / proof / i was there / when there / was still / there / when going out / meant / going somewhere / not just / opening / an app / not just / scrolling / through pictures / of food / other people / are eating / in places / that still / exist /
coaster / collection / growing / without / intention / just / accumulation / of places / i set down / drinks / while talking / while thinking / while existing / in spaces / designed / for temporary / presence / but somehow / i made it / permanent / by taking / the thing / that protected / the table / from me /
memory box / full of / memory boxes / smaller ones / nested / like russian dolls / of sentiment / each one / a different / attempt / to organize / the unorganizable / to contain / what can’t / be contained / to make sense / of why / i keep / what i keep / and call it / curation / when it’s really / just / fear /
photograph / printed / from before / everything / was digital / when pictures / cost money / and took time / and you only / took them / when you / were sure / you wanted / to remember / and now / i have boxes / of expensive / intentional / memories / that i rarely / look at / but can’t / delete / because / they’re already / real /
cable drawer / full of / cords / for devices / that no longer / exist / but what if / i need / to connect / something / to something else / in a way / that requires / this specific / proprietary / configuration / of metal / and plastic / that they / stopped making / the day after / i threw away / the thing / it connected / to /
notebook / half full / of ideas / that seemed / important / when i wrote them / now / incomprehensible / but still / mine / still / proof / that once / i had / thoughts / worth / writing down / even if / i can’t / remember / what i meant / by “tuesday / elephant / significance” / or why / it was / underlined / twice /
cleaning / becomes / archaeology / every layer / a different / version / of myself / i’m not sure / i’m ready / to excavate / or bury / the person / who kept / every program / from every / concert / like she / was building / a museum / of her own / attention / her own / presence / her own / proof / that she / was there / when there / was music / when there / was wonder / when there / was still / room / in her life / for things / that served / no purpose / except / to remind her / later / that once / she lived / loudly enough / to need / somewhere / to put / the evidence
daniela cuevas theoretical institute llc 