Maybe those
who believe
A piece of
your soul
Is stolen
with each photograph taken
Are right,
though I hope not;
Reflecting
back over the years,
Looking at
her tortured face
In that
static image,
I wonder. I
hope not, for my sake.
Hard to
contemplate so many stolen moments
Pieces of
others’ lives captured
By my lenses,
the films’ emulsion
Now sitting
in dust covered albums,
yellowed
envelopes and crooked frames
In that monument’s polished black
marble
in other reflections, moments,
captured
(for I have seen them).
She stood
hunched over, frozen
Jaw clenched
and hands knitted,
Holding or
hugging herself
Against her
chill that July.
Paralyzed by
her private pain
Writ large
there in public, on the Mall
Countless
others had and have since
Faced their
own demons.
For twenty
minutes (or a little less)
I could watch
her pilgrimage, her prayer
walking down
into this moment, this place;
A stranger
motionless that stopped me
That held my
attention
And the
camera’s gaze before me.
Me a voyeur,
an intruder,
an unwelcome
confidant.
She stood too
near the names
those written
on the marble
wanting to
turn away;
But her feet
and legs
Couldn’t
carry her slight frame forward
To touch the
past, that memory;
The walkway
before her still,
I imagine,
never to be breached.
=====
edited September 9, 2015
The Wall – v6
(editing original)
edited July 27, 2015
The Wall – v5
(editing original)
edited March 23, 2015
The Wall – v4
(editing originalagain)
edited November 11, 2014
The Wall – v3
edited May 28, 2014
The Wall – v2
posted February 14, 2004
The Wall
June 22, 2001
===
edited May 27,
2014
“In the Rain,
in that Place – v3
edited May 26,
2014
“In the Rain,
in that Place – v2”
Memorial Day
November 11,
2010
“In the Rain,
in that Place”
Veteran’s Day
2010
and
remembering being
at the Vietnam
Memorial
Vietnam
Veterans Memorial Fund
during the 10th
anniversary
Veteran’s Day
1992
&
edited May 27,
2014
Left at the
Wall – v3
Edited May 26,
2014
Left at the
Wall – v2
Memorial Day
August 5, 2006
18:05
Left at the
Wall
&
All of my
Veteran’s Day poems
&
All of my
Memorial Day poems
All of my
poems, photographs, and videos are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001,
2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014,
2015, 2016. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss (raymondafoss@gmail.com) for
usage. See all 42,390+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
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