Going through some keepsakes

and memories

I see a picture of a moment

a moment of youth

a moment of joy

a moment of laughter

a moment of fun

caught in a 4×6 cell.

My fingers trace it

so much hope

so much naivete

so much enthusiasm

incident to youth.

Where did all those smiles go?

On so many different roads

that those smiles didn’t know was coming.

Now,

those laugh lines are etched into the faces

that hair has been replaced with gray

all the faces are fuller

due to the privilege of growing older.

Except for one face in the picture

no longer grows older

and my finger rests a little longer on that one.

I know the moment is gone

and I can’t go back

I don’t want to go back

but I miss those people

who we were at that moment

I miss that moment

caught in a 4×6 cell

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