I know seconds remain 

Before the opportunity is lost. 

The perfect shot, once in a lifetime

Lays before me.

It’s the unnerving alignment of sun and moon

During the eclipse.

I snatch my camera

Throw the strap around my neck.

Here’s the chance to encapture destiny 

With a single snap.

It bounces against my chest, waiting for the opportunity 

To reach out and grab the scene, immortalize it forever.

My camera, bouncing against my chest.

Time has taken its toll on my precious tool:

Scratches along the sides like skids on the road;

Batteries draining energy like air from a tire;

Lens cap lost in Chicago long ago, taken by the elements;

Yet it’s my precious tool, my lifeline of fate all the same.

I run to take the shot, settings set to auto.

No need for fancy frames or expert exposure: 

I just need to shoot.

The scene ahead is about to be smothered by the winds of time

But I am just a little bit quicker 

And I begin. 

Snap, snap.

Snap, snap.

I click the button as if my life hangs in the balance.

The milky depths of the camera open like a flower

Let in the light, reach out with open arms

And transform like a miracle the real-life into photograph. 

The scene passes, drifting into the past

Like our childhoods that we’ll never reclaim.

My camera can rest now, 

A runner complete with their marathon. 

But just as the runner is done for now, 

My camera will never truly rest.

I snap the glittering aura of trees and plants,

The solidity of a city skyline.

I snap from the moons, the stars, the sky

To an insignificant pinecone 

Laying on the ground

That to me is even brighter than the stars.

And so now

My camera sits impatiently,

Secured in a bag on the side of my bed.

I am an addict, addicted 

To the next click of a button

That next capture of destiny.