slide show
click click: my brothers play road hockey
click click: the sour cherries in blossom
click click: my sister as a baby
click click: my mother slim & pre-gray
click click: my dead brother aims a snowball at the photographer
the rest of us smile cautiously
click click: we lean against the dark tree trunks
some have maple syrup buckets attached
click click: my dead father, proud of his belly & thick sideburns
let someone use his camera
click click: my grandmother, visiting from England
her arm tight around her daughter’s waist
click click: we are lined up, squinting at the sun
in front of the tent at long point
click click: my children laugh at us
click click: notice resemblances
click click: joke about genetics
click click: deny the inevitable
click click: my mother cries quietly
click click: looks away from the screen
click click: & i am distracted
click click: by the memories
click click: of what happened
click click: before & after
click click: each pose
click click: was struck
click click: bright light
click click: blank screen
Copyright(c)FrancesWard
Frances Ward (f.ward), (visual artist, poet, editor, publisher) was born in Manchester, U.K. of English/Italian descent, and emigrated to Canada as a child. She has spent most of her adult years in Hamilton and surrounding area. Ward is a multi-media artist who creates 2 & 3 dimensional works through the use of found materials and images; welding, collage, assemblage, printing, painting and photography. Her visual art is included in private and corporate collections. She is the author of three solo collections of poetry; Side Effects, Life & Ledger and The Writer Seems Unaware…. publisher/editor of Hammered Out (a literary journal) and publisher/editor of Road Work Ahead (an anthology of images and poetry by Hamilton Poets).
Frances, I really enjoyed reading your poem. As an amateur photographer myself, I can just visualize what you are writing about.
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