Frozen Time

The holidays are over. The household is bereft

Of the noises and the voices; only echoes have been left.

Their car drove off, with kids and dog, 

And I resigned myself

To adding one more visit

To those stored on memory's shelf. 

But hope survived with the dawn of the day.

A network of footprints was etched to display

A gift frozen in time, a vision sent, 

A precious reminder of what visiting meant:

Deep footprints where the parents strode, 

Steps straight and aligned in approach to the road.

Circled around theirs, in loops to and fro,

Small running steps, forging trails in the snow.

Now only the snow recalls the  sound

Of closed doors, goodby hugs, and frozen ground.

The house stands still. The silence grows, 

Erasing with time all that memory froze.