Exposures

Exposures

I have spent the afternoon in the backyard
measuring light, setting apertures,
searching shutter speeds,
in a vain attempt to catch my six-year-old
at the apex of her swing.

I wish to trace the outlines of her youth
against the backdrop of the sky
and place her amongst the clouds
in my documentary of her life journey.

But every effort is thwarted
by my clumsy pans, which I know
will result in nothing but frozen action,
or indistinct blurs across the photograph.

I am about to quit, when her giggle
makes me glance up and see
a bounce of blond curls following the curve
of her laughter, like a comet's tail,
and I sense the startled astronomer's awe
of glimpsing a celestial event
that will never be captured on film.