in clarity then fading with time,
but it is rarely so simple.
Terrifying events get repressed
while things that at first seemed fleeting
or ephemeral
grow in importance as the years pass.
Conversations that felt inconsequential
come flooding back,
filled with new meaning.
Remembrance of things past
suddenly brings whole epochs into sharp focus.
We reconstruct memories belatedly,
imperfectly often through the needs of the present.