This photo is from the G. Eric and Edith Matson Photograph Collection, a set of 22,000 glass and film photographs and negatives taken in what was then called Palestine (present day Israel and the West Bank) from 1898 to 1946. The picture is part of a “Bedouin wedding series” but the caption on the negative just reads, “The bride.” That’s it. The Bedouins roamed the region as nomads, so there are any number of places the photograph might have been taken over the course of two decades.
Library of Congress blog
Usually for the photo prompt I find a photo of my own or one from my Instagram or Facebook feed, but today I am using a photo from the Library of Congress. I signed up for emails from the Library of Congress blog, and this recent post made me want to know more.
Please write a small poem of 16 words or so in the comments and comment on other poems. I “found” a poem on the blog post. Maybe that’s cheating…
Still,
Margaret Simon, found poem
eyes.
Those hands.
This woman knows work.
She is there
gazing into the future
hoping…
Reflections on the Teche 
Embellishment
Silk knots adorn
her bridal dress.
A skillful mother’s
message to be
decoded as needed.
© Diane Mayr
Lovely, Diane….the hopes and dreams of a mother still with her daughter.
Or, instructions on how to tighten a noose? (I’m always ready to look at the non-bright side of life. A sign of the times.)
Wonderful, Diane! So much outside this poem.
I love your focus on the knots possibly sewn by a loving mother.
Diane, I am so glad that I finally got a chance to respond Margaret’s challenge and excited to see you here. I find your poem fascinating because while I saw those embellishments I did not think deeply enough about them. I certainly think your poem is plausible and really like the introduction of the word decoded.
Good Morning! I am finally home from seeing family and hoping to get back into my writing groove. I love, love, love photos from LOC. Thank you for sharing one today. The line that makes me say, “wow” is “she is there. Isn’t that photo the perfect example of being present? Beautiful. I went with simple haiku.
today the windows
of my soul are also yours
together we see
“Together we see” is a beautiful expression of community. I’m glad you are safely home.
Linda, welcome home. I will be in Virginia for a short visit next week. I found your poem’s lines to be a loving gift from a young bride. I agree with Margaret that your addition of together we see shares the fullness of the presence and expectation of what is to come.
Linda, your haiku is beautiful and sounds like a marriage vow! “Windows of my soul are also yours” is a wow!
Margaret, this woman’s eyes are mesmerizing. I noticed her hands, like you, and wondered about her life as a young bride. I chose a golden shovel format to compose this poem.
If but for a moment, I’m gazing.
My eyes wander into
a sea of endless thoughts in the
desert days of my future.
©Carol Varsalona, 2020
I agree. Those eyes! What would a desert day of the future be for this person?
Carol, I love your idea of her eyes wandering into “a sea of endless thoughts” about her long “desert days.” I agree that her eyes make you wonder what she was thinking.
Hurry up
and take the picture
so I can go
dance at my wedding.
Ruth, thereisnosuchthingasagodforsakentown.blogspot.com
Ruth, your response is one that I often hear from my family, “Hurry up
and take the picture.” There may be some truth in your small poem.
Ha! The real truth.
Ruth, I love your humor! I agree with Carol. Makes me think of my family, too. In fact, those words were expressed recently when we took pictures with my husband’s family.
She does seem to be a bit impatient with the photographer, an interesting perspective.
Such varied points of views. Bride pictures do conjure hopes, dreams, fears, the sense of the unknown.
What does marriage mean?
Is it an awakening?
Does acceptance or resignation
haunt your brow?
Janice, I love the repetition of your meaningful questions and the words, “haunt your brow!” I almost used the word haunt in my poem. I wondered about her “acceptance,” also. “Resignation” is even better.
“Haunt your brow” stops me and makes me thing.
That gaze into the future is powerful, Margaret. I have a series of postcards — photographs of immigrants taken at Ellis Island. All over the world, people were and are proud of who they are.
Margaret, what a powerful photo! I love old photos. First, her eyes drew me in, then her Mona-Lisa-type lips, and robe. I wondered what colors her robe were. What were those knot things on her robe? I couldn’t NOT see her eyes. Were her eyes full of pain, peace, acceptance, worry, trust, fear? I see many people liked her eyes. I like how your poem incorporated her eyes “gazing into the future/hoping in a positive way.
Bedouin bride
rites, robes, women’s rights?
enigmatic eyes
still roam
Great use of r-sounds…rites, robes, rights, roam…
Diane, I’m glad you wrote about the knots. I like your consonance of letter s through your poem and the idea of the knots made of silk. Your personification of the knots being, “a message to decode as needed” is brilliant and gives me goosebumps. Nice alliteration of letter m, consonance of letter d, and repetition of letters ed. Sounds great read aloud!
Margaret, your poem is lovely. Your poem makes me feel that I know this woman. Beautifully done!
You will never know,
nor do I want you to.
But thank you
for trying.
Truth.