The commercial advertised all of life’s major events

A young girl turned woman living in it

Candles, balloons, graduation caps, dresses, hospital gowns

Each milestone printed on an announcement whenever she turned around

A postcard, a memento of each step

The computer printer tried to keep up with each breath

But at some point the commercial did end

I can’t remember now at which event

I guess the printer ink turned gray or the whole machine fell apart some other way

Or maybe the fingers or mind behind it ceased

In any event, the postcards eased

It’s an odd thing – for the living

The service is Minted

I wonder if they meant it: to remind me of death

That each generation keeps taking steps

That when the printer dies it shouldn’t be a surprise

I think about my own grandfather’s timeline

I was happy to have spent a few years in his light

Maybe I am unwise

To try and slow it down or to figure it out

The teacher of Ecclesiastes shouts: it’s all hevel

So love God and keep His commands

Don’t kill yourself making plans

That printer will die

No one will regard your postcards left behind

I try to keep my best memories in my mind – minted

No camera, no printer can truly capture them

So I enjoy my minty chocolate chip ice cream

A joy of livin’, splendid

Another snapshot in history’s stream