Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Nothing's More Interesting

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.