Some are Even Stored in a Sealed up Barrel in a Garden Shed
The family albums brim with pictures held
In off-white stasis turning yellow, stained
With busy carelessness. They have been quelled
By years of disregard. The snaps, constrained
Inside the pages, huddled, jumbled, some
Completely loose, mean nothing now, except
Abandonment. A blond man with his chum
Stands by a dark sedan, its meaning swept
Away completely in a land so blank
Of memory that it can’t be haunted, can’t
Muster even phantoms. It’s like a prank.
Some long gone, distant cousin or an aunt
Arranged them all with care but left out dates
And names and details, closing all the gates.
Nice!
John, I almost never think to check for comments here on THE ENCYCLOPEDIA SONNETICA. Sorry. I’m glad this sonnet pleased you. I thought it might appeal to you because you are a historian.