A cardboard box upturns

And the sea of photos spilled

Empty albums stacked beside her

She’s determined they’ll be filled

But so many are her loved ones

All their faces held so dear

How to organize a lifetime

Seems so hopelessly unclear

There-- the twins when they were babies

Which was which? (A mother knows)

There’s the Bricken girls together

Once again (so long ago)

There’s Bobby—she was teasing him

He’s sticking out his tongue

And Daddy looks so handsome

He was taken much too young

As she sifts through all the memories

She smiles (a tear is shed)

And though the albums sit forgotten

It’s her heart that’s filled instead