San Gabriel Valley Poetry Quarterly

Lori Wall-Holloway
RIPPED

Torn emerald paper

crumples and wrinkles
as I try to stick
on scrapbook page
 
Distressed, I quickly
attempt to fix
ripped parts and smooth
to make beautiful
 
Beautiful like the story
told in the photos
arranged upon table
to be placed on sheet
 
Sheet decorated
with pansy stickers
entwined with leaves
along border to create frame
 
Frame to surround
the images of a past
moment, a gift
in time to hold dear
 
Dear to me as I grasp
any ripped parts
of my life, only God
can smooth and repair