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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.

393 Published Reflections

Reflections by Marta Vidal

Showing 12 of 393 essays
The Weight of the Net Photo of the Day
April 17, 2017

The Weight of the Net

I keep a small, rusted thimble in a ceramic bowl on my desk, a relic from my grandmother’s sewing kit. It is dented from years of pushing needles through heavy wool, its surface worn smooth by the repetitive labor of keeping things whole. There is a quiet, rhythmic dignity in such work—the way a life […]
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The Weight of a Glance Photo of the Day
April 16, 2017

The Weight of a Glance

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 against the palm, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a time when locks were simple and houses were meant to stay shut. We spend our lives […]
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The Weight of Stone Photo of the Day
April 12, 2017

The Weight of Stone

I keep a small, smooth pebble in my pocket that I picked up from the threshold of my grandmother’s house the day we finally locked the door for good. It is cool to the touch, worn down by decades of footsteps and the slow, rhythmic pulse of the seasons. There is a particular kind of […]
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The Weight of a Life Photo of the Day
March 25, 2017

The Weight of a Life

I keep a small, brass key in my desk drawer that no longer fits any lock I own. It is heavy, cool to the touch, and worn smooth by the friction of a thumb that has long since stopped turning it. There is a particular ache in holding something that has outlived its purpose, a […]
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The Weight of a Name Photo of the Day
March 17, 2017

The Weight of a Name

I keep a small, rusted 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 phantom weight of a home that no longer exists. We spend our lives collecting these fragments—the keys to rooms we cannot […]
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The Weight of a Gaze Photo of the Day
March 16, 2017

The Weight of a Gaze

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 my house was full of people who are no longer here. We hold […]
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The Weight of Stillness Photo of the Day
March 4, 2017

The Weight of Stillness

I keep a small, smooth river stone on my desk, worn down by years of water passing over it until it feels like silk against the palm. It is a quiet thing, heavy with the patience of a thousand seasons spent waiting for the current to change. We often mistake stillness for an absence of […]
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The Weight of a Ribbon Photo of the Day
February 25, 2017

The Weight of a Ribbon

I keep a silk ribbon in a small wooden box, the kind that once held a child’s hair in place during a summer that felt like it would never end. The silk is frayed now, losing its luster, yet when I touch it, I am pulled back to the sensation of wind against skin and […]
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The Weight of the Watchful Photo of the Day
February 24, 2017

The Weight of the Watchful

I keep a small, rusted 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. Sometimes, I turn it […]
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The Weight of the Season Photo of the Day
February 21, 2017

The Weight of the Season

I keep a small, tarnished silver spoon in my kitchen drawer, its handle worn smooth by the grip of a grandmother I only knew through stories. It is heavy for its size, a weight that speaks of long afternoons spent stirring pots until the air grew thick with the scent of earth and slow-cooked patience. […]
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The Weight of the Tide Photo of the Day
February 19, 2017

The Weight of the Tide

I keep a small, smooth stone in my pocket that I found on a beach many years ago. It is worn down by the constant, rhythmic friction of the ocean, a testament to the patience of water against stone. There is a quiet dignity in things that are shaped by their labor, things that have […]
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The Map of Our Years Photo of the Day
February 16, 2017

The Map of Our Years

I keep a small, silver thimble in my desk drawer that belonged to my grandmother. It is dented, the metal worn thin by decades of pushing needles through heavy wool, and when I run my thumb over its surface, I can feel the ghost of her labor. We often think of our lives as a […]
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