The reel clacks  
and miles of trees from family trips jerk by.  
The camera
                      handheld  
aims at distant mountain peaks
covered in summer snow and
                                                       closer
to home, lingers on the open
pit mine, the iron ore dumps of our hometown
as if they all might disappear.  
 
Over and over, we rewind those frames
to replay fleeting glimpses of family and
childhood friends and our younger selves  
long gone.


© by CJ Muchhala.
Used with the author's permission.