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Starve for the Camera, Please


It is not the photograph that is overexposed,
but the subject. Less than three feet tall
where four or more is expected,
she is not so much standing, as pinned,
like an insect to be specified in a lab.
Classified if deemed worth the time,
then carefully dried and slid under glass.
Though many end up thrown away.

This one, I suspect, is headed for the bin.
Shine the light right here. Oh, yes.
The legs are too thin, and they are bowed
from a condition we call rickets.
Observe that the eyes protrude.
A common sign that the environment
fails to provide the right food. Or none.
Points to water rich in organisms
bent on, or by or for, destruction.
Observe how the hair on the scalp is slick
with perspiration indicating fever.
Spikes, it will fog every shot, I fear.
For some time, we have found far too many
like this. Someone needs to do something.
Too bad this doesn’t not fall under the heading
of scientific exploration. Hand me a phial.
Believe I will save this one to show
my students as a lesson in what happens
when more and more of nature’s creations
are born in the wrong place at the wrong time
or war zones come to them. Meanwhile,
let’s look in different neighborhoods
in different countries. Who knows?
Perhaps the conditions that are killing
without respect will take a turn.
Until they do, buy better film
and screen for healthier subjects.

A weary assistant who is on break
stands just outside camera range
deciding between ham and cheese.