Family Portrait Poem by Jim Yerman

I took this family portrait yesterday as we walked along the beach…
our entire family could not make it…
some were sleeping…
others out of reach…

But I noticed through the camera lens as in the sand I knelt
even the family members who were absent…
their presence could be felt.

I don't know how it happens
but when I take a picture of my family…
I swear
I see the people in the picture frame…
and the ones who are not there.

Which makes every family photo…
a reason to give thanks…
as my eyes look at the picture
while my heart fills in the blanks…

So once again I smiled as I snapped this picture…
suddenly filled with but one thought
how my entire family is always with me…
whether they're with me…
or they're not.