I Have Photos - a poem

I have photos


Oh, I have photos of my great-grandparents
Formally standing, staring from their frames
Posed, and their sisters, brothers, children too,
All dressed for some occasion then, a wedding
No doubt, long before I was born.


And my grandfather's bronze medal, red ribboned,
for service in the Navy, in the Spanish-American war,
And photographs of him and my grandmother, and
Even two personal memories of scenes from their lives,
When I was a child, but three feet tall.


And drawers full of photographs of my parents, my father
The amateur photographer snapping all and everything,
And personal memories of our lives together as a family
Memories as vivid and sharp as only yesterday,
Even now -- I as old as they once were.


My children, now spread far and wide, have their photos
And their own personal memories of our times together
Jostling for space within their own recollections,
Their children perhaps remembering only as few glimpses
As I remember of my own grandparents.


Each person lives two generations, just two,
Whether famous or not, historical or not,
One life in living, one in personal memories,
One generation begetting, the next forgetting,
Two generations our lot in this entire Cosmos.

peder
6/29/14

wow, there are just so many things going for this one. Good poetry. I am amazed at how you handled the subject of photos. You take us through all these memories, and really let your voice shine in the way you describe them. And the envoi gave the piece a nice little flair, almost as if you were asserting your voice in full force at the end. I dig it. I mean, it did snap me out of the moment, but that's why it works being at the end of the poem. That being said, the body is just amazing. Beautiful line breaks, pleasant wording, artfully arranged for effect. Like I said, this poem just has so many things going for it.

I enjoyed it very much.

Stiggy,
That's two where you humble me with your exquisite praise. I am thankful beyond description. It is certainly not the usual reaction -- and I have the poems to prove it.
Sometimes I am just in the mood, while my wife wonders where these morbid ideas come from. But she loves me anyway.
Many thanks
Peder

A lovely evocative poem Peder. I found the last verse particularly poignant.

Thank you, Poppy, very much. Your thoughts are very sincerely appreciated.