I Focus on What You See

1. (The following is a poem written by me for my Creative Writing class.  I don't often share my personal writing, but I enjoyed this process immensely and was encouraged to share publicly.) 

I do not feel the rush of wind as it tosses falling leaves.

I do not hear the grieving moan of the widow as she grieves.

But I see and can remember all that is in front of me.

I stop time for a moment, a glimpse, a breath in your story.

My job is sometimes art, sometimes hobby, my voice is unheard.

Life moves so fast that we can’t remember all that had occurred.

I sound almost violent when it is said I am used to shoot.

Each ‘shot’ I take is a thousand words; but I don’t speak.  I am mute.

I took those first, precious moments of your celebrated birth.

The smiles of proud loved ones forever telling of your worth.

I saw the horrors of war, the images burned in real time.

From first tin-type to digital, from unique to paradigm.

And when I am picked up, I can be a weapon or a tool.

The milestones, the laughter, treasured and guarded like a jewel.

I don’t decide where to focus, or if the image is posed.

I don’t decide which secrets are the ones to be exposed.

I can be manipulated, settings changed, altering the scene.

I’ve seen a million sunsets, and ugh… another selfie queen.

The last few years I’ve seen a lot of food I will never eat.

A, hello, cleavage central… Ladies, try to be more discreet.

The best images are candid, ones that show a world that’s true.

From the tender to the gritty, from beautiful to the cruel,

Like a thief, I steal the bounty of what won’t ever come again.

And yet that makes my job more special, as you ‘remember when.’

My best days are still ahead, as I’m hardly yet to my prime.

I took ten minutes to make an image in 1839.

Now, in just a blink, I capture moments on high-tech smart-phones.

I am launched into the sky to see on satellites and drones.

What was once only an option for some once in awhile

Is now common; so don’t just portray a pretend lifestyle.

Use me to capture special moments that take your breath away.

Let me help you mark the journey as you travel day to day.

I may change and be replaced with more advanced technology,

but I hold to the truth of the past without apology.

I don’t feel or hear, taste or touch, but the images I see

Help you to do all thee above as you touch a memory.