PHOTOGRAPH

The day was hot, sultry,
the lawn large,
the mower loud and clunky.
At the corner of the house
I saw her, our pre-school pixie,
leaping through the waving shower
the sprinkler was bestowing on the grass.
I stopped, went inside for the camera.
Coming up behind her,
I clicked and froze
the moment.

        And now,
here in my hand, she stands,
forever holding her bowed head
over the spray, her eyes closed,
the smile on her face beatific,
the tug on my heart
bittersweet.