I Was There

Thought for the day:  Photography takes an instant out of time, altering life by holding it still. [Dorothea Lange]

A camera is kinda like a mirror with a memory, which is really good, because sometimes my rememberer forgets.

Photography is a way of feeling, of touching, of loving. What you have caught on film is captured forever... it remembers little things, long after you have forgotten everything.  [Aaron Siskind]

And what can be captured on film (or digitally) can also capture the imagination. Can make you wonder about what you see in that picture, what came before, and what happened afterwards. That's why pictures make such excellent writing prompts.

The talented Delores of thefeatherednest has been providing weekly photo writing prompts for the past twenty weeks, and it's been fun to see the pictures she and others have offered for consideration, and to read the various posts inspired by those pictures. Alas, this week's prompts are the last until next spring, so I figured I'd play along for this last round. Better late than never, eh?

 Delores offered four different pictures for this last round. Here's the one I chose:

                                             And here's where that picture led me:


                                                        Kilroy was here.  
                                                        Frightened,
                                                        Hopeful,
                                                        Filled with bravado,
                                                        I left my mark,
                                                        Proving to posterity
                                                        That I was there.
                                                        Look.
                                                        Do you see it?
                                                        Do you remember me?
                                                        I was there.
                                                        And then...
                                                        Blown away
                                                        By the uncaring winds of time...
                                                        I was gone.

                                                       Footprints in the sand.
                                                       Running,
                                                       Playing,
                                                       Filled with life,
                                                       I left my mark,
                                                       Proving to posterity
                                                       That I was there.
                                                       Look.
                                                       Do you see them?
                                                       Do you remember me?
                                                        I was there.
                                                       And then...
                                                       Washed away
                                                        By the uncaring waves of time...
                                                        I was gone.

                                                        Bootprints in the snow.
                                                        Crunching,
                                                        Sliding,
                                                        Chilled with cold,
                                                         I left my mark,
                                                        Proving to posterity
                                                        That I was there.
                                                        Look.
                                                        Do you see them?
                                                        Do you remember me?
                                                         I was there.
                                                         And then...
                                                         Melted away
                                                         By the uncaring suns of time...
                                                         I was gone.

                                                        Do you remember me?
                                                        Does anybody care?
                                                        I was there.
                                                        Oh yes,
                                                        Once upon a time...
                                                        I was there.

I WAS THERE.

                                Thanks, Delores. That was fun. (In a melancholy sorta way. HA!)

                                 Until next time, take care of yourselves. And each other.