Brown hat and green scarf – Nathan Davis

Brown hat and green scarf


there is a picture of me
sitting
in a cafe
downtown—black
and white, canted
slightly
like some amateur
photography student
trying for
poetic
realism.
Kelsey had
 
taken 
a class
months before, and
told me to wear 
her brown hat
and green
scarf and put
a cigarette in
my mouth as my fingers
hover
around the coffee
mug.
 
but
you don’t see
my hand
dancing, just
motionless 
like my
smile,
obliged
like the hat and
scarf
to be worn 
for 
 
this picture.
the focus is 
shallow,
everything behind me
blurred; Kelsey wanted
one
of just
me
alone in that
old Nikon
viewfinder.
you can see
 
an arm 
in the frame, a pale
elbow
that belongs to 
Sara; 
she was there
too
but the only thing
Kelsey wanted
to capture
was
me. 


Nathan Davis