Lines written in response to “Home Movie” (a BirthdayPoem)

Words radiate through the projector’s light.
A scene flashes in vintage motion.
I see it.
I feel it.

I want to eat the cake,
To touch the warm wax as
It rolls down the beveled candles—
To experience bottled memory.

Rhythmically, the frames click by.
Time rewinds to a moment nearly forgotten.
Smiles gleam and silent wishes form in secret.
I can remember some, and long for those unanswered.

Sadness hangs in the last second like the air brushing the flames.
The reel ends,
The moment extinguished,
And life takes memory’s place.
Only the blank screen, pulsing light, and regret remain.