Distance

By Paul O. Jenkins

In this photograph,
Taken from a respectful distance,
I see my sister kneel
Beside the horse
16 hands high,
Now unable to rise
From the pasture floor
And I wonder at the love 
On display
And the steady hand
Of my brother-in-law,
Centering the shot,
And the knowledge
That I will never so love
Or be so steady myself. 

Paul O. Jenkins aims to elevate the commonplace. He lives in New Hampshire and increasingly in the past. His poems and short stories have appeared in numerous literary publications, both in the United States and Europe.