“The Zeignarnik Effect” by Hollay Ghadery
Poetry Pause is the League of Canadian Poets’ daily poetry dispatch. Read “The Zeignarnik Effect” by Hollay Ghadery.
The Zeignarnik Effect*
By Hollay Ghadery
For the record,
it’s not the Fat Cities,
beers on tap,
closing shift blues
or names of regulars
I remember most—not
even the one
who brought me
bear meat from his
hunting trip, even though
I’d said, No, no,
thank you. And
no, I won’t eat that
not because it’s meat
but because it’s. bear
and how he’d looked
puzzled
a moment before
breathing, Ahhhhhhh,
I see. But makwa won’t
hold survival
against you.
What I remember is
the busiest
weekend of summer,
tables packed, my
gilded reflection floating
in the bar’s l o n g, disilvered
mirror while I poured
drinks, left them huddled
and sweating on the
glass rail
how I’d said
nothing, not even
No thank you,
when a waitress
put in an
order and said, Don’t
rush this one.
Not like Indians
fucking tip
anyway
*Named after Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik, the Zeignarik effect refers to the theory that people remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed ones. Many people experience intrusive thoughts and anxiety that come with these unfinished tasks that have the effect of reinforcing memory.
Copyright © Hollay Ghadery
Hollay Ghadery is a multi-genre writer living in Ontario on Anishinaabe land. She has her MFA in Creative Writing from the University of Guelph. Fuse, her memoir of mixed-race identity and mental health, was released by Guernica Editions in 2021 and won the 2023 Canadian Bookclub Award for Nonfiction/Memoir. Her collection of poetry, Rebellion Box was released by Radiant Press in 2023, and her collection of short fiction, Widow Fantasies, is scheduled for release with Gordon Hill Press in fall 2024. Her debut novel, The Unraveling of Ou, is due out with Palimpsest Press in 2026, and her children’s book, Being with the Birds, with Guernica Editions in 2027. Hollay is a co-host of Angela’s Bookclub on 105.5 FM, as well as HOWL on CIUT 89.5 FM. She is also a book publicist and the Poet Laureate of Scugog Township. Learn more about Hollay at www.hollayghadery.com.
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