A Familiar Stranger

 The third poem of the year is due today in the Deadlines for Writers poetry group. The assigned topic is "enigmatic." 

A Familiar Stranger

I hold the photo close to my face

And squint to focus on the girl. 

My arm extends its length,

And I study the moment, frozen in time,

On the paper in my age-spotted hand.

**

Something in the girl’s posture calls me,

And the day captured on this bit of paper

Rewinds and begins to play in my mind.

**

The teen rises from her bed with energy.

Lustrous hair, brushed 100 strokes, falls in place.

After a quick touch of color to lips and cheeks,

Attention turns to family morning routines.

**

Receiving sweet morning hugs and smiles,

She helps little sisters make their beds.

The morning rushes on:

Breakfast to share -

Ponytails to fashion -

And out the door, en masse, to school.

**

She swings little brother’s hand as they walk

Then waves goodbye to the little ones at their school yard.

The girl and her older sister, in giggly conversation,

Walk faster now, anxious to check into high school on time.

**

The school day is filled with work and play and drama.

The girl dances through academic challenges

And friendly conversations,

As each new facet of the day calls for its own action.

**

Now, in the moment captured on this paper,

Sounds of child’s play and late-day backyard activity recedes, 

And the girl sits, pensive, and wonders about the years ahead.

**

The girl in the photograph, dreaming of her future, cannot conceive

That an old woman will someday hold this moment in her wrinkled hand

Trying to decipher the girl she used to be.