once, we did exist

Captured ghosts lie tucked away
at the bottom of a bottom drawer,
out of mind and out of sight.
Their images, like the memories of forty years before
will gradually fade away
when taken out, passed around, and exposed to the light.

Old dog-eared photographs,
a name that appears on census lists,
and maybe a yellowing scrap from the local press
are all we have to show

to prove that once, we did exist.