Mary Ellen Mark
the iconic and prolific photographer
who captured simply
the lives of people
on the margins
for example
in a trek to New York City
in 1967
where over the next several years
she acknowledged
in black and white
the existence of prostitutes
of Vietnam War protesters
of Women's Lib marchers
of transvestites
of the homeless
of those addicted to drugs
and of Times Square
(among other folks and places)
has died at 75.
Portraying one small part of the world
"as it is"
contrary to common sense
is still an art
performed by mere humans
which means that hashtags
like #NoFilter
will never be accurate
and accuracy
is an impossible goal
but to get at anything
resembling something like truth
we need
and will always need
more filters.
This poem © 2015 Emily Cooper.
