Youth

I see your pictures
and smile.

I know
the color will begin
to bleed away silently.

Your unfettered laughter
will be tossed into
a corner
of the closet of your mind,
while you try on
a new wardrobe
of straitjacket suits -
the ambitious black
and the responsible grey.

Your smooth face
will be lined by the
pathways of your choices,
and your straight back
will stoop to conquer
life's battles.

Yet, I will not tell you all.
I will admire
the pretty pictures you take,
and steal a little hue
to tint my own sepia prints.