Day 4: Brewing Up a Legacy of Magic and Wonder

Photo Credit Annie Hock

Freeze frame!

Did you tell us to tilt our heads until a wisp of  hair fell on the open book?

Or did you catch us in a rare moment of cooperation?

Did you tiptoe to the counter,

Surreptitiously slide the camera toward you

Muffle the sound of the lens cap and the hum of the focus?

Before the graduations,

            the moves to far away colleges, 

            the weddings, 

            the in-laws, 

            the births

Before the weight of reality

            the adult decisions

When it was just us.

Where we learned to navigate the art of togetherness and communal living.

Why did we ever leave this bliss?

What happened to the wonder?

When I watch my babies play,  

I see it clearly 

There was magic 

Laying dormant 

A legacy of wonder 

Passed from you to us.

It didn't disappear. 

My girl she finds the oldest book on the shelf 

She beckons those unruly boys to listen. 

In hushed tones she weaves a fairytale. 

There once upon a time far far away there was a brave little girl, she had two brothers... 

The deja vu is visceral

Wonder swells  

Joy illuminates their faces 

Not wanting to disturb this precious moment

I am unable to move

But when I do 

I am looking for this photo

And calling out across the years 

For you.