DU TEMPS PERDU

weather vane
rusted into a NNW
still facing into the long ago

paying little heed
to time or what
way the wind blows

the peal of a bell
nails our shadows
to the hard ground

the sharpness of sunshine
outlining everything
it touches

the smack of bat on ball
****** of tea things
broken china cup "...howzat!"

our shadows get up
walk silently away
they have business elsewhere

so here we are
trapped in this
one moment

staring blindly
into a future
we can not know

the white border
of the photograph
contains us

it is no longer
the 1930's
storm clouds gather

another generation holds us
between forefinger and thumb
war has come and gone

they must wonder what
we were
thinking when it was taken

we stare out at them
staring in at us
each unable to imagine the other

they remark that we
have their eyes...their faces
the resemblance there for all to see

they could just as easily
be us
"Ha ha...that's us...in fancy dress."

time doesn't seem
to have a moved
the weathervane still

doesn't know
which way
to turn