trappings of life

Picture-perfect he stands
with an unreadable face
his arms around her
smiles in the offing
and a baby in the pram.
Heavy bags tug at his shoulders
and he stands,
an invisible centimetre,
minus his height,
with the world he
recreated –a man, a woman, a child.
a life xeroxed as the one he knew
with the trappings of life
to anchor himself.
And on wakeful nights
while changing diapers,
and in moments of solitude,
fear creeps inside of him,
evaluating his abilities to re-create
the picture in his mind.

From a distance,
an observer zooms his lens,
a spectator who spends nights
witnessing others live their loves,
questioning his own stance,
his own ways
with no trappings
with the shackles de-shackled,
with no connect with
a soul except his own.