a theory of
you in the flood
Photographic
processing transforms the latent image into a visible image,
makes
this permanent and renders it insensitive to light-
-Karlheinz Keller
your photo floating in the flood
reveals the relativity of knowing
filtered sepia- your skin glows
cold- feet buried in the barren winter
wonder- your tan– I presume tan– overcoat
falls mid-calf in a wide, ample hem
that rhymes with the gabble
roofs of dark houses nearby
the colorlessness of Lower East Side
you look like a Christmas tree- I think
maybe you wanted to be a tree,
feet rooted in the ground underneath-
the snow- your body is an hourglass
as you look to the camera in frozen awe,
holding on to the languid limb of a tree,
and in the picture, you and I are together
again: I am the piece of dead wood
Elidio La Torre Lagares
Elidio La Torre Lagares is a poet from Puerto Rico.
Tags:
Poetry