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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 Sunlight Photo of the Day
April 29, 2023

The Weight of Sunlight

I keep a small, smooth river stone on my desk, worn down by years of water and the friction of my own thumb. It is heavy for its size, a dense anchor of earth that reminds me of a summer when time felt infinite, before the edges of the days began to fray. We spend […]
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The Weight of the Tide Photo of the Day
April 18, 2023

The Weight of the Tide

I keep a small, rusted iron key in a velvet pouch, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy, cold, and carries the faint, metallic scent of a time when locks were sturdy and secrets were kept behind solid wood. There is a particular gravity to objects that have […]
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The Sweetness of Staying Photo of the Day
April 12, 2023

The Sweetness of Staying

I keep a small, tarnished silver spoon in my desk drawer, its handle worn smooth by hands that stopped reaching for it decades ago. It is a heavy, quiet thing, a relic of Sunday afternoons when the air was thick with the scent of caramelized sugar and the slow, rhythmic ticking of a wall clock. […]
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The Weight of Ascending Photo of the Day
March 21, 2023

The Weight of Ascending

I keep a small, rusted skeleton key in a velvet-lined box on my desk, though I have long since forgotten which door it once opened. It is heavy for its size, cold and stubborn, a relic of a threshold that no longer exists. There is a peculiar ache in holding something that promises passage to […]
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The Weight of the Current Photo of the Day
February 26, 2023

The Weight of the Current

I keep a small, rusted iron key in the velvet lining of my jewelry 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 house that no longer exists. We spend our lives gathering these […]
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The Weight of Stone Photo of the Day
February 22, 2023

The Weight of Stone

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, a dense little anchor of iron that suggests a threshold I can no longer cross. We spend our lives building walls—of habit, of […]
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The Weight of Dust Photo of the Day
February 10, 2023

The Weight of Dust

I keep a small glass vial on my desk filled with red earth from a place I have not visited in twenty years. It is heavy, far heavier than its size suggests, as if the grit of the desert floor has absorbed the gravity of every hour spent walking upon it. When I tilt the […]
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The Weight of Shared Thresholds Photo of the Day
January 29, 2023

The Weight of Shared Thresholds

I keep a small, rusted iron key in a velvet pouch, 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 house that no longer exists. We spend our lives gathering these fragments—the keys to rooms […]
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The Weight of Stillness Photo of the Day
January 23, 2023

The Weight of Stillness

I keep a small, silver thimble in my desk drawer that belonged to my grandmother. It is worn smooth on one side, a tiny indentation where her needle pressed against the metal thousands of times, a record of every garment she mended for us. When I hold it, I feel the weight of all the […]
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The Weight of Stilled Light Photo of the Day
January 23, 2023

The Weight of Stilled Light

I keep a small, rusted skeleton 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 house that no longer exists. There is a strange, aching comfort in holding something that […]
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The Map of Our Years Photo of the Day
January 20, 2023

The Map of Our Years

I keep a small, silver thimble in my desk drawer that once belonged to my grandmother. It is worn smooth on one side, a tiny crater formed by the constant pressure of a needle pushed through heavy fabric. When I run my thumb over that indentation, I feel the weight of the thousands of hours […]
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The Weight of Small Things Photo of the Day
January 14, 2023

The Weight of Small Things

I keep a small, dried petal inside the pages of a dictionary, pressed so thin it has become part of the paper itself. It is a fragile, translucent thing, the color of a sunset that has long since faded into gray. When I touch it, I am reminded that the world is built upon these […]
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