In the photograph from 1943, for my grandfather

by Elizabeth

Published October 25, 2006

... this... was sort of scary... I don't know. Maybe I'm being stupid but the part with "Grandmother is young... a smile without teeth." ... hmm... I'm like, pre-mature tooth decay?

I like this... I really liked the lines from "A stranger might call you happy..." to the very end.

This was beauitful, but there was just something that could've been more about it, I'm not sure what, I'm forcing myself to start writing again, so far it's not working :)

---Elizabeth

Comments & reviews · 5
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Snoink
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Snoink commented Comment · Oct 26, 2006

Oooooooh... I like this.

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Wiggy
Review
Wiggy wrote a review Review · Oct 26, 2006

but I see how the cold is manifold like small fibers woven


This line seemed too long. I don't know-it just seemed like I was stumbling over syllables in this one.

But other than that, the poem was brilliant! I loved your imagery, and the reministic air you had throughout the poem, and all from a photograph. Awesomeness, Brad!

Wiggy ;)

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Firestarter
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Firestarter commented Comment · Oct 26, 2006

Yeah, I limked the juxtaposition of happiness and reality. You wrote this in a style similar to your older poems. It's a voice I like.

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Chevy
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Chevy wrote a review Review · Oct 26, 2006

Hey Brad, I loved this. I think this poem is wonderful. From my understanding, the speaker is looking at old photographs, back when Grandma looked young and pretty. Grandpa's appearence is not described, but there is a reference to war which leads me to believe that he has not been quite the same since. Grandma, too, is not smiling fully. The heart of this poem is really in the details and what is not shared. It kind of reminds me of a Hemmingway poem where you really have to look beneath the surface in order to understand it. I love the close, how you liken the red jacket photagraphed in black and white to the grandparents and how even though they look happy, there is a thick, grey atmosphere that tells us something completely different.

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xanthan gum
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xanthan gum commented Comment · Oct 26, 2006

Nice ending. Simplistic, but beautiful.

Here's another from that day;

Awkward transition.



i got called an enigma once so now i purposefully act obtuse
— chikara