Moment by Matt Witt (ONE GOOD MEMORY Series)

Moment
by Matt Witt

By rough estimate
there have been
2,452,800 moments
in my life,
and yet
that one
still stands out.

The two of us
sitting on the yard-sale bed,
facing each other,
cross legged,
knees to knees,
in a silence of smiles.

And by some miracle
not only our clothes
fell away

but also her anger at men
like her alcoholic father
who treated women like children,

and my fear of
becoming my father and mother
who slammed doors and yelled
instead of talking

and fallen away were
all the images acquired by osmosis
of men the leaders and providers and protectors
and women the seducers and the valentines

and for that moment
it did not even matter
that one of us was female
and one was male.

We explored each other,
In no hurry,
our human connection made physical.

By rough estimate,
that was one of
2,452,800 moments
in my life

and I had no idea at the time
that there would never be
another one like it.

Photo by Matt Witt, mattwittphotography.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Matt Witt is a writer and photographer in Talent, Oregon. His work may be seen at MattWittPhotography.com. He has been Artist in Residence at Crater Lake National Park, Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness Foundation, Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, Mesa Refuge, and PLAYA at Summer Lake.