The Missing

Just a grainy photo in a missing persons file A blurry time worn image of a fading face and smile Forgotten people through the cracks have slipped and gone away By whose hand to God knows where there is no clue to say They wandered off the beaten path into the mists of time A piece of fruit plucked from a tree A vanishing, sublime Some disappearing so complete as though they never were The myths and legends they became our haunted memories stir Of what befell the missing many theories abound like ghostly campfire stories that keep getting passed around But they were once like you and I with lives and plans and dreams 'til something swept them from the Earth without a trace it seems And through the years the families are left with gaping holes An emptiness the size and shape of all these long lost souls And many are the ones whose absence never will be solved They took a walk and they were gone as if they just dissolved From scientists to engineers to little girls and boys whatever snatched them from our lives no preference employs And sadly, nearly every day a brand new face and smile becomes another photo in a missing persons file Mike Wise 11-12-19