At an event I went to this weekend, there was a guy dressed up as Santa who was taking pictures with the kids and fur babies. I say it was a guy who was dressed as Santa because he had to ask my name, and the real Santa would have known it already. Anyway, he asked about my typewriter and poetry on one of his passes through the market, and when he came back later, he said he wanted a poetry about the art of photography.
He showed me some of his own photographs on his phone, and they were exquisitely colorful. I could see how much joy he took in capturing them. So I wrote this poem for Santa’s doppleganger, and he was really impressed.
THE ART OF THE IMAGE
Some say that photos capture
the stillness of a moment
but I say they release
energy that was dormant
for while we do take pictures
it’s only so we can share them
holding image to image
allows us to compare them
for every photo that we take
every single picture
contains so much diversity
a lovely little mixture
of light and dark, color and shape
each image is unique
and when we listen with our hearts
to us they will speak
they’ll show us all new beauty
we didn’t know was there
they don’t allow for apathy
because they make us care
photography as an art of love
for the world that is around us
and the places it can take you
allows your spirit to be boundless
whenever you take a picture
remember it’s your duty
to give back to the world
by celebrating its beauty
