In this photo

I am too young
and too tired
to notice
the lace curtains hanging
on the windows behind us.

The ones we would wash every year
and hang on the line, leaving
the tub full of dingy water.

I am too young
and too hungry

to notice
the cross of St. Brigid on the door
where it still hangs
and the rocking chair in the corner
where it still sits.

I am too young
and too happy

to know
that one day I would nurse you
administer breathing treatments
and feeding tubes
spend hot summer nights at your bedside.

I want to wake

the infant in

this photo
and tell her to remember
the man holding her,
just as he is there,
in flannel and suspenders
thick glasses and white hair.