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Contributing Writer Memory, Objects & Elegiac Prose

Marta Vidal

Marta Vidal is a writer and archivist whose work explores what physical objects hold — letters, worn photographs, things kept against all practical reason. She has contributed to Light & Composition since 2016. A photograph for Marta is always a form of preservation, something the photographer chose to keep. Her Reflections open with a specific object and arrive, gently, at what it means when the moment has long passed.

389 Published Reflections

Reflections by Marta Vidal

Showing 12 of 389 essays
The Dust of Yesterday Photo of the Day
February 16, 2018

The Dust of Yesterday

I keep a small, wooden box filled with the broken ends of colored chalk, worn down to nubs by years of use. They are dusty, fragile things, stained with the residue of lessons long forgotten and drawings that were washed away by the first heavy rain. To hold them is to feel the weight of […]
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The Rhythm of Hands Photo of the Day
February 11, 2018

The Rhythm of Hands

I keep a small, frayed piece of twine in my desk drawer, a remnant from a package my grandmother once tied. It is brittle now, the fibers loosening if I pull too hard, yet it carries the memory of her steady, rhythmic movements. She was a woman who understood that life is held together by […]
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The Threshold of Silence Photo of the Day
February 10, 2018

The Threshold of Silence

I keep a small, smooth river stone on my desk, worn down by years of being turned over in my palm. It is cool to the touch, a heavy reminder of a place I once stood where the water seemed to hold the sky in its throat. We are often drawn to these edges—the dark, […]
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The Weight of Open Space Photo of the Day
January 30, 2018

The Weight of Open Space

I keep a small, rusted key in my desk drawer that no longer fits any lock in my house. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a door that has been sealed shut for decades. We often cling to these remnants, hoping they might one […]
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The Weight of Stillness Photo of the Day
January 24, 2018

The Weight of Stillness

I keep a small, tarnished brass key in a velvet-lined box, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a time when locks were sturdy and secrets were kept behind iron. To hold it is […]
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The Unlikely Guest Photo of the Day
January 20, 2018

The Unlikely Guest

I keep a small, silver thimble in my desk drawer, worn smooth by my grandmother’s thumb. It is a useless thing now, a relic of a life spent mending tears in fabric, yet I cannot bring myself to discard it. It reminds me that we often find beauty in the most misplaced corners of our […]
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The Weight of a Pause Photo of the Day
January 12, 2018

The Weight of a Pause

I keep a small, rusted skeleton key in a velvet pouch, though I have no idea which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the phantom weight of a room I will never enter. We spend so much of our lives in motion, rushing toward the […]
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The Architecture of Passage Photo of the Day
January 8, 2018

The Architecture of Passage

I keep a small, rusted skeleton key in a velvet pouch, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold against the palm, and carries the weight of a threshold I can no longer cross. We spend our lives moving through spaces—hallways, archways, the quiet gaps […]
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The Weight of the Wait Photo of the Day
January 6, 2018

The Weight of the Wait

I keep a small, silver thimble in my desk drawer that belonged to my grandmother. It is dented on one side, a tiny scar from years of pushing needles through heavy wool. When I hold it, I am reminded that patience is not merely the absence of movement, but a deliberate, quiet tension. We spend […]
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The Weight of the Path Photo of the Day
January 6, 2018

The Weight of the Path

I keep a small, rusted iron key in my desk drawer that no longer opens any door I know. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and worn smooth by the friction of a hand that has long since stopped reaching for it. We spend our lives collecting these fragments—the keys to […]
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The Weight of Morning Photo of the Day
January 3, 2018

The Weight of Morning

I keep a small, rusted key in a velvet-lined box, one that no longer fits any lock I own. It is heavy for its size, cold to the touch, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a house that was demolished decades ago. We often hold onto these remnants not because they are useful, but […]
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The Weight of Small Hopes Photo of the Day
December 16, 2017

The Weight of Small Hopes

I keep a small, rusted tin box in the back of my desk drawer, filled with the discarded stubs of train tickets I never used. They are thin, brittle slips of paper, their ink fading into the color of a bruised sky. Each one represents a journey that was postponed or a destination that remained […]
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