Because I Am Old

Because I am Old

On a day when the light was shining high overhead,

Glimmering white on the water, just over the hill,

They walked, three and three, five and five,

The littlest boy trailing behind, while the littlest girl,

Only missing a step, shadowed them as a third wheel,

Boy and girl walk hand in hand in the perfection

Of innocent friendship, rare and beautiful

In this fallen world, reminiscent of primordial walks,

Taken, once upon a time, once upon a garden, before

Blame and desire and the wanton cares of life.

You wonder what is in their little heads, what thoughts

Run through the peaceful scene, if any do at all,

Or if they are just so caught up in the joy

Of it all, that splendour of the grass, radiant,

And bright as the shining white waves of water,

That they do not think anything, instead only feel.

I see it and I long to feel what they do, and can,

When I see the scene, captured, frozen in time,

Like my own memories of childhood, though events

Aren't quite as clear, I can see their faces,

Remember a smile, a tear, the sound of laughter,

As if it were today, though I never would have

Been taken back so deep into my mind's archives

Had I not been sparked by the image, I felt, yes,

For an instant, but then my mind went right to work

Because I am old and being old I analyze,

And I'm not completely sure which is better.


Photo Credit: DeAnna Atkinson