Pictures from my father's album #3

Where did you go in those quiet moments?
Staring into the fire with only the Queen
And Country for company and a vacant space
On the mantle piece. I cannot see your face.
Did you ponder those flames like the lapping waves
That occupied your later years when your only mood was reflective?

I wonder if you'd had an inkling then
Of what your life would bring to those fragile shoulders
And whether you thought of simply turning around
And leaving without so much as a sideways glance
At whoever was holding the camera

Category:

Film & Animation

Tags:

• Her Majesty the Queen
• Jubilee
• fire
• sea
• water

[Caspar33]

Affecting piece. There's a Magritte similar I think. Unanswerable questions probably. As we all have (or have had) one it makes for part of being human. But how much can we truly know another? Even a prolific writer or artist who lays before us artefacts that can seem self-portraits, or like self-portraits, the essential self is still elusive, glimpsed only here and there through smoke & mirrors. Yet there are exaltant chemical(?)/epiphanic(?) moments when for us something comes!! A charge!

[andrewnorris1]

@Caspar33 Thanks, Fred, since I did not know my father that well I am trying to discover him purely on an emotional response to pictures that belonged to him, or even objects. Perhaps it is all hypothetical, the marrying of litttle known details to a particular context as a way of giving meaning to both, the story and the image. Photographs only offer suggestions but perhaps a whole album will give a life story.

[HerAeolianHarp]

Nice to see the continuation of this very personal series, Andrew. Perhaps that reflective quality was part and parcel of his generation, what a broadcaster in my country called "the greatest generation"--a moniker bestowed for their heroism. As I recall, your father took part in that, too. He was fascinating. What is equally great to see shared here is your fascination with him: the respect, care and loss woven into this tribute is intimate and yet universal. Well done. :) - E

[andrewnorris1]

@HerAeolianHarp He does fascinate me largely because I have had to fill in so many blanks for myself. The fact that he actually died on my birthday bestows his passing with an additional significance, and the whys and whatfors are what I am trying to find out through my speculations.

[ourDC888]

Beautiful! Thank you, Andrew.

[BigLoveZone]

When I look at old pictures of my father, it serves to remind me that he

had a whole different life than what he shared with me. It's not that he

had something to hide. It never dawned on him that I might be interested

Your poetry describes exactly these thoughts. Well done Andrew x

are

[XaveJamesGrey]

There is as much concealed in the world of a photograph as there is revealed. Your personal reflection upon your father's photograph makes a vivid impression, and stirring poetry. The image of "leaving without so much as a sideways glance" haunts me. Bravo!

[andrewnorris2]

@Iddybud Thanks, good to hear from you after so long.

[Iddybud]

Well done, Andrew.

[Wolfiewolfgang2]

Lovely...just enough guitar too. I really like the minimalist camera moves too.

[tinySpectacle]

Oh, it is really excellent to get a poem out of you. This is a beautiful, contemplative work. I love the line " ...what your life would bring to those fragile shoulders."