by Tony Schanuel
In the Old Photographs
there’s a child with love smeared around their mouth
there’s a woman named rachel or at least her hair is
flowing. there’s a lemon dress that hangs lonely
in your closet. is emptiness what’s lurking in the light
of flash? there’s a book now living in the binds
of goodwill. there is goodness in these photos,
you swear it. must be true what the poets say
about memory understood through distance.
there’s a distant look in the subject’s eyes
there’s a subject unremembered for years
and it will stay that way, you think, turning
the album shut. it will stay this way.
Julia Watson earned her MFA from North Carolina State University. Her works have been published in The Shore, Voicemail Poems, LEON Literary Review, The Dead Mule School of Southern Literature, among other journals. She lives in Asheville, North Carolina with her grumpy dogs. You can read more of her work at juliawatsonwriter.com.
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology, and painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection.