Photos

They stand before me in uniform columns A mixture of snapshots and Polaroids As testimony to the time of us Each is a witness to a moment that was When I clicked you into permanence And sanctified an instant never to be denied There is the shaded image of you asleep Your hand resting easily on the pillow And I remember wondering where you had gone In the passage through your dreaming You are there with funny face and clownish pose Sitting pensive and aloof beside the River Po Lifting a toast, as if to us and all tomorrows Somber and dejected on the day the canary died You are there, made as forever as a statue Immortal upon flexible plastic And indelible upon my memories, you are there Each photo a recollection, like ashes of reality Engraved upon my soul in kisses and promises You are there because I am your inheritance to you