1
Found lurking like a stowaway in the back pages of this old album.
Left loose amid the fixed ranks of happy family snapshots.
No permanent berth for this party pooper.
2
Me
Apprenticed sophisticate.
Cig stuck lips.
A dry and dumbfound mouth.
The open collar signifies an abandonment of formality.
The frown of concentration betrays a desperate desire to cause no scene.
You with your fixed
Eternal smile.
Shards of jealousy
Neatly folded into
Your crisp white handkerchief
To be disposed of later at home.
She
So exotic.
Bohemian,
With her red neckerchief,
Kit bag.
And long, flowing
Everything.
Found lurking like a stowaway in the back pages of this old album.
Left loose amid the fixed ranks of happy family snapshots.
No permanent berth for this party pooper.
2
Me
Apprenticed sophisticate.
Cig stuck lips.
A dry and dumbfound mouth.
The open collar signifies an abandonment of formality.
The frown of concentration betrays a desperate desire to cause no scene.
You with your fixed
Eternal smile.
Shards of jealousy
Neatly folded into
Your crisp white handkerchief
To be disposed of later at home.
She
So exotic.
Bohemian,
With her red neckerchief,
Kit bag.
And long, flowing
Everything.
To you, casual viewer,
We are three.
You fail to consider
The finger on the shutter,
The framer of the piece.
The one who arranged the pose
And defined the role
Each of us might play
Forever.
3
There are other copies of this shot.
Incomplete.
Neatly cropped
Almost at the centre.
Trio transformed into pair.
A contented couple,
No longer distracted by her.
Bitterness removed.
Envy extracted.
Actually, there are other copies
Of only half this shot.
This was the one that got away.
4
'There’s mum, there’s dad.
Side by side.
Just after the war.'
'And who’s that other woman?
She looks quite modern.'
'Did dad smoke? I never knew he smoked.'
'Perhaps that’s why he died so young.'
23 March 2009
We are three.
You fail to consider
The finger on the shutter,
The framer of the piece.
The one who arranged the pose
And defined the role
Each of us might play
Forever.
3
There are other copies of this shot.
Incomplete.
Neatly cropped
Almost at the centre.
Trio transformed into pair.
A contented couple,
No longer distracted by her.
Bitterness removed.
Envy extracted.
Actually, there are other copies
Of only half this shot.
This was the one that got away.
4
'There’s mum, there’s dad.
Side by side.
Just after the war.'
'And who’s that other woman?
She looks quite modern.'
'Did dad smoke? I never knew he smoked.'
'Perhaps that’s why he died so young.'
23 March 2009