Published March 22, 2017 by

Poetry is like the latent image

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Sunrise on Gerrard East, Toronto, 1982   © Avard Woolaver 

In analog photography, the image is invisible and remains hidden on the film until it magically appears during development. Poetry can remain in our minds like a latent image. Here is a poem I wrote about this phenomenon.

 

Latent Image

 

Immersed under a film of random moments

A whisper of time when all was exposed

Then quickly hidden in a latent image

Time passed, time past

The moment is, the moment was

But I remember it differently:

I thought the light on the horizon

Was a holy orb

Lifting my spirit upward

I needed the picture to be whole

 

–Avard Woolaver, 2017

 

“Sunrise on Gerrard East, Toronto, 1982” is from the book: Toronto Flashback (1980-1986)

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Avard Woolaver colour film photography latent image poem poetry sunrise Toronto Flashback (1980-1986)