I wonder
“Ring out the thousand years of old. Ring in the thousand years of peace.” -Alfredo Lord Tennyson
I should have sketched their faces
when nothing else but a perfect conformity existed
I should have written down somewhere
the wisdom of their words
I should have listened more intently and mindfully
to their humorous quips
I wonder what else I may have missed
I never asked how they met
I wonder about their childhood dreams
Were they fulfilled or deferred?
I should have memorized
the contours of their faces
and the soft lines
that defined their hard work.
I wonder if they feared
leaving me behind to wonder.
I wonder.
I wonder.