Magnolia

Car packed
slowly
we pull away
(from the curb?)

Leaving

Dog
cats, kids
sleepless nights
final projects, exams
sprinkled throughout the city
all – left behind and wrapped
in the sultry fragrance of an early Savannah morning

Off the tree
caught in my backward glance
I break
one bud
to take with us

Every five
then ten, fifteen minutes
snap.    snap.       snap.       snap.                snap.
thirty minutes.            an hour.                    two
I take photos
the bud reaches full bloom somewhere in North Carolina
a chronicle of life

In evening’s fading light
images flash briefly, projected on the reefer door
snap.    snap.         snap.            snap.                snap.
family photos.