Jason Dean Arnold
Viewing a “Live” Photo of You on My iPhone at Work
For Linda Hayes Rossano (1945-2018)
Reanimated, you briefly become my memory
Of your smile while holding Eleanor on your lap.
She is three years old, laughing, and holding a stuffed horse
While you are only holding her and a momentary happiness.
I am holding my thumb to the screen, playing the 3 seconds
Over again so many times my mind is made aware of this trick
Of light and shadow, of the individual portraits sequentially
Shown to appear as motion, as living. You are not
In my phone, slightly moving forward with your smile, just
As you are not reading this text as it is being typed
On the same small screen that allows me to revisit you
For a few minutes during a day full of waiting, punctuated
By these fleeting moments of happiness.
About the writer:
Jason Dean Arnold’s entire career has been devoted to the importance of education, from teaching in the K-12 setting to designing and teaching online courses for post secondary. He currently serves as the director for E-Learning, Technology, and Communications at the University of Florida’s College of Education. Jason has no ability to compartmentalize. As a result, his writing, visual artwork, and music (and other creative output) are all extensions of his love for learning. His most recent poetry chapbook, While this Human Engine Waits (2018), was published by Epigraph Magazine.
Image: Twilight of Stillness by Jacob Berghoef. Fine art photograph created in-camera. No technical information specified. No completion date specified. By permission.
