The curtains open, the lights go dim
Cough drop settles deep in his throat
The projector clicks and spins
The camera pans up a sleeve to a face then falls and blurs
Still frame of a sycamore tree
And momma’s there
And daddy’s there
That’s my yard
Now that’s me
And time stops moving
Northern beaches on the sea
Seagulls dive bomb tables where my family eats
Someone picks me up and pulls me center frame
You can see me smile as they splash me in the waves
And grandpa’s there
And grandma’s there
That’s my dragon kite
That’s my underwear
And time stops moving
Put that camera down
Days we can’t erase
Buried in the ground
With so many intermissions
To adjust the mirror
Bury our fingertips deep in the ash
Needing some damn thing to feel
Another roll of film he calibrates
Flip it on again and watch the same mistakes
‘Cause Mary’s there
And Peter’s there
And that’s my church
And that’s my boutonnière
And that’s my ring
And that’s my wife
And that’s my watch
And that’s our time
But time stops moving