AN IMPROMPTU STILL LIFE
Wispy, late afternoon clouds
reflect in a glassy river,
daylilies kiss the fading light,
tree silhouettes hug a distant shore,

a child in summer hues
sits like a subject in a painting,
her ice cream cone the centerpiece
of an impromptu still life,

we peer at this picturesque scene
not wishing to disturb
the texture of this fleeting moment,

a vision that gives us pause,
causing our breath to catch,

if she recalls this day when she’s grown,
may she remember how it felt
to bring a painting to life
in the colors of love and light.

Photo by my sister, Maureen Shepherd, of her granddaughter