Written for a friend on her 80th birthday. She had shown us a photograph of herself taken when she was a schoolgirl.

Girl in a photograph

Robin Ford, December 2013

Blinked the shutter; latent image
Formed on halide-covered glass.
Silver elegance emerged with
Each developmental pass.
Hypo mixed,
Image fixed.
Light-proof now, archival class.

Eyes that looked right through the cam’ra
Way beyond the focal plane.
Far infinity their focus.
Will that moment live again?
Striding on.
Moment gone.
After-image will remain.

Talisman of bygone era,
Taken from a silver lode.
What is past and what is present?
Hidden existential code.
Turn the page.
Present age.
In a light reflective mode.