8x5 Pastimes

Photos of our childhood,
Of days overcome with age,
Scattered across the bedroom rug.
Thirty-five faces looking up at me.

Smiles and laughter captured in the flash of a bulb.
Joy of a moment caught up in a frame.
Snapshot portrayals of earlier days.
Memories of a life I miss so much.

Where have these days gone now?
Where are the smiles we use to have?
The laughter, the joy, which we once shared?
Where are these happy children now?
When did we grow so old?

Years have passed and even with digital,
The photos aren’t the same.
The smiles not as big, the laughter not so bright,
Responsibility replaced carefree.
Now too busy to photograph life,
Too busy taking care of it.

Spencer’s going to be married soon.
Adam’s in the army.
Mark’s on his way to college now.
Chelsea’s sick in hospital.

Amanda’s had her firstborn girl.
Kyle was the father.
Hannah’s starring in the West End,
but where does that leave me?

With pictures of pastimes,
Stacks of photos from what used to be,
Scrapbooks full of memories,
A life catalogued in 8x5 frames.
Life captured in the flash of a bulb,
Shadows of a memory.