Almost Dead

I am not that attached

to the photograph.

Capturing a moment in time

with a fake laugh.

“Hold this pose.

Don’t worry,

we’ll edit your nose”

With the right lighting

anyone can fake a shine.

Playing pretend

to try to capture a moment in time.

“Stand like this.

Chin up.

It’s not a joke, Chet -

so shut the fuck up”

“Sit still -

and open your eyes.”

“Well,

Why?

All of these photographs

just feel like lies.

We cannot capture time.”

“We’ll use this filter here.

And make it clearer there.

We’ll blur this out,

and distort reality -

just to make ourselves

feel a little happy.”

Let’s all distort reality,

so we can try to feel happy -

and we’ll all pretend

like we don’t know

what we are doing.

We won’t see

the paths we are choosing.

When everything lives in the individual head

then reality is already

almost dead.

-C.H.