Family Pictures

Old photographs spill
Images long faded,
Tattered and still.
Lovers dance serenaded.
Soaked in radiance they stream,
Hand in hand, garments flapping
Caught up in an enchanted lover’s dream.
Guests watching and clapping,
A tenderly touching romance
Documented in that first wedding dance.

New family pictures display,
Two strangers stiffly holding
Children posing at play.
Laughter and love rapidly folding
Their eyes slightly faded.
Past love a long forgotten illusion
Life now tragically jaded.
False smiles like a cushion,
Desperately cover up the fact
Their marriage is presently an act.

More photos artfully in order
Hiding two families hurting,
Smiles frayed at the border.
Divorce leaving lives stinging
Children totally shattered.
Families detached and neglected
Lives irretrievable tattered,
Bitterness mirrored and reflected.
Love never had a chance,
As past lovers circle in resentment’s long dance.