cameras

a cheap boxed gift
pre-packaged in shiny primary colors of childhood
containing a plastic black camera
and a book on "how-to"
so thrilled to match up scenes from real life
with staged book examples
size 12 shoes
racing around my backyard
trying to capture trick shots
and action
sunlight streaming through the lens
fingers twisting an empty camera
waiting to get prints back
lines of negatives

another camera
a hand-me-down
long black
kodak
and film that can't be bought in stores
it took my favorite snapshot
autumn and maple leaves
three colors
red, green, and orange
loosely hanging from my climbing tree
hands and feet winding up
scurrying up
scuffed elbows and glasses that slide down my nose
the camera anchored by the wrist strap
a moment saved
developed on 4x3

today
still crunching through leaves
eying up climbing tress
a new camera in my pocket