‘The Little Things’

By Julia Nunnally Duncan | November 5th, 2022

A poem


a pile of old pocketknives, one of the memories that stirs this poet's heart. Boomer reader Julia Nunnally Duncan recalls the little things from the past that speak to her still: "mementos of a past time and place."

Boomer reader Julia Nunnally Duncan recalls the little things from the past that speak to her still.


The Little Things

It’s the little things
that wring the heart
from time to time—
remembered artifacts
from a childhood home:
a mother’s glass knick-knacks
displayed on a kitchen shelf;
a father’s old pocket knives
stored in a bedroom drawer;
World Book Encyclopedias
that filled one’s mind though the years.
These mementos of a past time and place
are never far away in recollection.
They abide in memory
alongside the dear people
who were once there, too.

Nostalgic items, "the little things," that bring memories of childhood: old photos, knick-knacks, whimsical spice shakers


Read more childhood memories and other contributions from Boomer readers in our From the Reader department.

Have your own childhood memories or other stories you would like to share with our baby boomer audience? View our writers’ guidelines and e-mail our editor at Annie@BoomerMagazine.com with the subject line “‘From Our Readers’ inquiry.”


In “Apron Strings,” reader Diann Logan remembered the many aprons her mother wore daily – and what happened to those aprons later. Here is an excerpt from the essay:

… Two weeks after my 30th high school reunion, my mother died. Those three aprons that she wore most often during my high school years were neatly ironed and folded, stacked in her tea towel drawer. Here they are again in another permutation. I turned them into this quilt, with her apron strings attached to the top edge. This is the bridge between nostalgia and the present. When I touch these fabrics, time is telescoped and her essence is still with me today. …

Click here to read more and see the quilt

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