Picture Of A Child


How do you tell a picture
I love you so.
I miss you so,
so terribly.
How do you hold its hand,
and walk down the street,
or push it on a swing,
or watch it as it sleeps,
or plays?
How do you adore a picture?
How do you watch it laugh,
or cry,
and how do you give it warmth
when it's hurt,
or affection when it's sad?
How do you forget your whole damn life
and all the things for which you lived?
How do you go on
when every breath
is a searing agony
through and through your soul?
How do you stay alive,
oh God,
how do you stay alive,
when all you have
is a picture?


W. James Beard, Jr.