The repetition of 'arms' is very effective in this sentence. I too like the striking phrase 'an apology of arms'. And I also like the repetition of 'always reaching for him'. The emotion of this is powerful. My sentence (as close as I could get to the original syntax, but not quite there) is here:
She kept her photographs, bound and labelled, always nearby; until, slipping away, she let them lie, dust-filmed, then buried beneath a growing mound of paper on her reading table—letters she forgot to open, lists to help her remember, remember that there should be meals, and medicines, and schedules, remember she must not wander beyond this room, where, somewhere, her memories were buried, bound and labelled.
The repetition of 'arms' is very effective in this sentence. I too like the striking phrase 'an apology of arms'. And I also like the repetition of 'always reaching for him'. The emotion of this is powerful. My sentence (as close as I could get to the original syntax, but not quite there) is here:
She kept her photographs, bound and labelled, always nearby; until, slipping away, she let them lie, dust-filmed, then buried beneath a growing mound of paper on her reading table—letters she forgot to open, lists to help her remember, remember that there should be meals, and medicines, and schedules, remember she must not wander beyond this room, where, somewhere, her memories were buried, bound and labelled.