If I had remembered my camera today,
I could have shown you
the morning sun flaming along jet trails on the
horizon,
yellowing leaves branched against a mediterranean
blue sky,
school children leaning into the nippy air as they stride
to school;
But I couldn't have shown you
the feeling of autumn in the air as my feet trod long
neglected, never forgotten pathways.
If I had remembered my camera today,
I could have shown you
the comfortingly traditional facade of a London prep
school,
the eager faces of well-mannered girls on the brink of
adolescence,
rows of desks and texts and inkpens and pencil cases
and plaits;
But I couldn't have shown you
the slipping of time looking into these faces so far
from my kindergarten.
If I had remembered my camera today,
I could have shown you
the luxury of lunch eaten outdoors in October
sunshine,
the first shiny auburn conker fallen on the busy path,
the iridescent silver star caught in a crack in the
pavement;
But I couldn't have shown you
the delectable freedom of having lunch in a cafe on a
school day!