A Moment with Violet
Violet on Kodak Portra 400
It’s been a tough season in life all around. Violet and I connected in that moment and this is the outcome. I hope you enjoy.
“He looked at me from behind a Leica’s mechanical eye
Green windows soulfilled bright like a torch.
He said to let it slide off
Like some old leftover mud
Like the skin of a reborn snake
He said to let it slide off
So when I began to ponder it all
I covered my head
With the arm of this furry black coat sheathing my back
Like a wound
Like a scab tumble
My right eye peered through the created tunnel
And I slumped into a red bike rack
My eyes closed in numb looseness because
All of it was heavy
And shedding does not come without due travail
So it took a moment
But it came off.
It did not fall like a dying ember
Or a crashing China cup
It began to sluice like black strap molasses
Or the colors in a near forgotten memory
It took a moment
But when I heard the shutter click
once
twice
again
then a fourth
I look up.
Warmth is spreading over me.
A first breath of consciousness after a good dream.
I meet his eyes, my artist friend.
And like an encounter with that prophet, Jesus. -When truth becomes a word with a capital letter-
We stare in disbelief and tangible joy,
For we both hear the same unintelligible words which are only known by those who have experienced this shedding.
He smiles and says
“That’s the one.”
But I am too full to say anything
As I stare at the grime covered suit that lay by my feet.
It is the shell of wars passed, the proof of bravery, the proof of growth.
And now that it melts into the cement,
victory is all that will remain.
I sit on that old red bike rack
In the November light
And I am new to the world in the distinct way
Of ends and beginnings
Of death and rebirth
And life unto life.” - Violet