A hot, muggy summer day two years ago -

I was taking pictures at Puffer's Pond.

Little children splash dark, cool water at one another;

others use pails and build sand castles.



I see these pictures again, two years later -

I never appreciated the beauty of black and white before.

An old woman's feet stick out of the border;

two children bend over to look at the sand.

The sunlight hits the water like a missile hits a target;

I look at it now and feel the heat on my back.



Surprisingly, this picture, my first, is one of my best.

My teacher thought it remarkable for my first work;

I didn't know that when I took it; who knew what I would get?

I guessed,

In my viewfinder the image looked decent,

so I pressed the button on the little children playing in the sand;

watching the black shutter close the lens,

slowly

like a window closing.

I can look back, but I can never return.