I’ve been looking all morning for a picture album.
I keep thinking of places it should be.
Places I’ve already looked and need to re-look.
I can picture it.
It should be. Right there. But it isn’t.
There is no reason for it not to be on the shelf where all the other albums sit.
There is no reason to have taken it out of the house.
It’s personal.
It’s of no interest to anyone but me.
It’s a part of me.
My past. And it’s not gone.
But everywhere I look, the obvious and the ridiculous places, nothing.
It’s here.
Behind something.
Under something.
Behind the books.
Under the bed.
I found other things
that sidetracked me.
Took me down other roads, more recently traveled.
And here it is, afternoon.
Found:
notebooks, books, stacks of pictures, really cool scissors,
and my dictionary, given on my 19th birthday.
Random pieces of me.
Found things and the thing I haven’t
tell a story of recent and distant past.
It’s all here. Somewhere. I just have to find it.
This week I celebrate what I found and knowing the rest will be.
Thank you, Ruth, for a place to share our lives. All the parts. Even the missing pieces. Read more celebrations here.
To Read To Write To Be 
You will probably remember in the morning where the picture album is. Doesn’t it always pop up when we are not thinking or looking for an item. Have a great holiday weekend.
I can so identify with the “I can visualize it but can’t get my hands on it” feeling. So many things discovered, but just not the right thing. Good luck finding it. 🙂
I can relate. I LOVE that you found notebooks amongst your treasures. Can’t wait til you find it (it will turn up), because that will be another great story!
I love that you shared that which was found, great things, but got sidetracked in the looking. Like those above, guess we’ve all been there.
What treasures you did find, even if you haven’t found what you’re looking for YET. It will come!
I always find the most wonderful things when I’ve been sidetracked and in search of something else. I see you do, too, Julieanne…and I love that.
The searching for something will always bring some surprises you were not looking for, and the thing lost will surface when you stop searching. I like how you crafted your search into a poem.
So fun to follow along on your search for the missing album. I have one missing too! Do you suppose they are hanging out together? Love seeing the random pieces of you that were discovered during the search.
Sidetracking is a way to uncover what has been forgotten or misplaced. It often leads to other treasures. I like the way this poem developed.