Nothing lasts.
The picture of the young, pretty, slender woman
holding hands with the smiling baby?
Well, that’s still around.
But the woman?
She’s not so young anymore,
Not as pretty,
And not as slender.
Years of cigarettes and stress
Have taken their toll on her
Body and spirit
And the baby?
She’s seventeen now
She thinks she’s all grown up
and knows everything
She’s not smiling anymore,
She’s already bitter and broken
She doesn’t let the woman hold her hands anymore,
They’re both different people now
One day they’ll be gone
But the picture may still be there,
torn and yellowed
And will eventually wither away into
Nothing.