Dedicated to someone who passed in the summer of 2024. This was written to a prompt to write a poem about a photograph. To quote e.e. cummings -“I carry your heart with me (i carry it in my heart).”


Captured

He sits upon my shelf,
looking off into the distance -
famous cliffs, ocean water
the backdrop in this photo.

The Irish day, a blessing:
blue sky, a light breeze,
forty shades of green.
Such a perfect day.

Smile beaming,
he stands in joy,
unaware that my joy
is in standing by him.

Of all the pictures
in all the places
we ever traveled,
this one captures him best.

He loved to smile,
to laugh with gusto,
to tell his stories -
heartfelt, often funny.

Music and words -
his talents. But
kindness and generosity
were his true gifts.

In this captured moment,
he is the story,
the whole of it.
What was, still is.

His essence remains -
his face, his smile,
his heart,
forever cherished.



Poetry by Melinda K Zarate The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 99 times
Written on 2026-02-23 at 21:50

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Griffonner The PoetBay support member heart!
What a lovely memory to have, inspired by a photograph. Maybe it is my age, but I increasingly find myself seeing and feeling more when looking at a photograph. They have become more valuable as they age. An interesting point of your poem is that the person in the photograph does not age, does not change, their personality, perhaps their spirit(?) a timestamp in your time. (That would taker me onto a way longer theory, so for brevity I will stop there!) Great poem. Blessings, Allen
2026-02-24