The picture is faded, cracked and spotted,
Taken more than thirty-five years ago.
Yet I remember the first day
I hung it on my living room wall
In Los Angeles many moves ago.
Right away I noticed
How her eyes followed me.
Wherever I stood or sat in the room,
I saw an expression of such purity
It would cause any demon to shiver.
I’d taken other photographs of her,
Dressed American style in blue jeans.
But that day she honored my request
To take me all the way to Ethiopia,
By wearing clothing reserved for festivities.
The sun was at a perfect angle,
As she posed in Wattles Park.
The necklace and ring she wore
Were made of pure gold…
I’d never seen her wear before.
And notice the way her shawl,
Heart-shaped around her lovely face,
Adds to the photo’s symmetry
In such an captivating and intriguing way
To compel one’s eyes to seek her gaze.
At the moment I snapped the shutter,
I had no way of knowing in few short years
Cancer would claim her sweet young life,
And that this photograph would become
A picture I call my guardian angel,
Zoma Shifferua.