Fleeting memories

I glanced her way
Her stare, me thought
I intercepted,
And a smile,
Such pretty eyes-
I turned away
I dare not speak
Perhaps
I vanity
She only charity
Did show-
This I shall never know
And yet
As one a treasure hoards
And dare not value it,
I shall
That glance, that smile, those eyes
Hold in my memory-
Will she
Any impression keep of me?

From time to time
Into my dreams
Has crept
A recollection,
A presence
Long forgotten
Faceless
Came unbidden
Dim stirring of the past.
Yet do I surely know
Her name and what she was to me:
Will she
Ever in her dream sleep Dream of me?

When we peruse
Old slides, old photographs,
And muse upon them,
Not one elusive thought alone will rise
But a whole host,
A flood of recollections
Breaks in upon us:
A loved one passed,
Or one once loved
But half forgot,
Or one once met
Who slipped from sight
And was not seen again-
A chance remark,
A passing glance,
An incident
Of laughter, tears, embarrassment,
A meeting, a departure-

Time, you have stolen all away….
but yet
These transitory pictures stay.
Should she look through old slides, old photographs,
Will she
Draw from time’s memory deep
Some trace of me?

by Geoff Patrick