The broadloom cover,
Frayed at the edges,
The old family album
Tells many stories.

The scent of mothballs,
Dust collected from wooden attics,
The album pages stained with 
the fingerprints of people long gone.

How many have held this book,
with the photos withered and yellowed
like ancient manuscript?
Reflections collected from different times.
The history of a family in still life.

The frozen poses of feigned posture,
The awkward grins of people caught off guard,
The time-worn book and the back pages,
which always fall out--holds visual clues
of how my elders once lived.

The old family album,
travelled from home to home,
Generation to generation.
But no one dared to throw it out.

Brought out during renunions and gatherings,
Eliciting smiles and rememberances,
Drawing the attention of children and adults alike
The old family album tells it's stories...
And becomes a member 
of the family itself.