yearbook club

i joined yearbook club
in fifth grade just so i could have time
with the oracle. the big computer monitors
were our conduits to all kinds
of colors. i seldom worked on the yearbook.
instead, i typed questions 
into the fresh god machine. nothing profound.
pictures of hedgehogs. where to buy
pet snakes. how many moons there where
in the whole galaxy. i know i am too nostalgic
for the old internet & so i remember it
better than it was. of course, there were days
when none of the screens would load
& all we did was spin in our office chairs &
gossip. still i crave the slow load 
of a perfect little gleaming island.
how old websites moved with animations
& pixelated music. i loved the search & dig.
i did not have a computer at home
& so this was the most unfettered internet
that i got. near the end of the year
we really had to get to work. i typed names
beneath my classmates' pictures.
dropped playground photographs 
onto pages. all of my work, haphazard.
the parent who helped run the club
would go back & fix all of our work
when we were done. in the last few minutes,
i reached for a tab. another illuminated question.
my fingers across the keys. where did 
all my wonder go? my face glowing 
from the light off the old monitor.