I Found You Hiding

I found you hiding

In a box of old photographs

And memorabilia from when

We were young

 

“Peekaboo,” you cried

When I lifted the old shoebox lid

And my hand fell to the table,

From the gravity of your absence

 

You smiled up at me

A foolish grin

wrapped around

Bright silver braced teeth

 

I smiled down at you

Wondering just how long

You would have stayed hidden

Had I not stumbled upon you here

 

How smart you were

To stay hidden until

At just the right moment

Springing up to say “hello”

 

And “Where have you been?”

As if I was the one hidden

Not in this shoebox of memories

But out in plain sight