Old Pictures

The old ones were always the best; shrouded in mystery and age

We gazed upon those we wondered about there upon the page

Times gone past; memories of yesterday, frozen in black and white

Permanently saved for historical times, convenient to our sight

Some are creased, wrinkled and faded, scored by the ravages of age

Some caught moments never again to be seen except here upon the page

Memories trapped in photographic dimensions saved to eternity

Still shots of relatives long past; some of you and me

Images on paper all slick and shiny collected from camera’s trap

Stuffed into old shoe boxes and forgotten to wait a long nap

Languishing in the attic for years without discovery

Then suddenly thrust into the light all about us to share and see

There’s grandma with flour on her nose and grandpa in his suit

Old cousin Fred on his Harley and Uncle Jack playing flute

Aunt Sally Johnson wear'in pretty dress on her wedding day

And the bride and groom danced about as a banjo did play

Memories lost in time hidden in an attic’s dark keep

Set upon the glossy paper for all of time to sleep

Discovered by surprise one day; memories gone for many a year

These imaged memories of long ago that we now hold so dear

Mama changing Dorothy’s diaper; Daddy smoking that old pipe

The car parked in the barn and the garden vegetables so ripe

The times we went to the fair; the day the circus came to town

Images trapped on paper from which memories abound

Brother John coming home from the war; a happy family time

That old porch swing hung on chains where we spend time sublime

High schools dances, first romances, and even a kiss or two

All held there in a shoebox just waiting for me and you

Those times are gone as are the people never to return

All we have are the memories and the images on paper burned

They deserve a better place than the attic in an old shoebox

They should be hallowed, save, honored, and kept under lock

Whoever took the time to snap the shot and freeze things in history

Those who were considerate enough to save them for us to see

The ones faded and creased cast in black and white

The ones that keep our loving memories forever in our sight.

© Copyright Wbrown2011. All Rights Reserved.