Television tells us the time of day
but confuses the decades,
not beyond recognition
just out of focus,
cataracts in our memories.
We watch, the hours pass –
qualities we cannot quite catch.
Though their imprint is faint
it holds fast like old friends
from childhood, not seen in years,
or ever again, still we know
them in a crowd or think we
see them in adds on the subway.
Late in the abandoned night
they become our closest allies.