Still Life with Eel Grass, Sand

By BRANDI KATHERINE HERRERA

setting sun, splayed

elegant

as fresh catch—

point of view, standing figure:

 

high-tide, haystack.

 

waves intermittent flare

echoes bonfire,

salmon—

 

cap, boots, sweater.

 

distance plummets,

ebbs

toward the water.

 

point of view, rückenfigur:

 

sea-kelp, razor-clam.

 

unhurried,

a male figure

studies

 

parallax, point a:

 

sun reflects water,

recedes

water mirrors sun.

 

separately, figures

fear

their solitary—

 

dogs bark, chase

distance—

waves and transparencies.

 

parallax, point b:

 

sand envelopes shell,

swallows

shell settles on sand.

 

figures move in,

gulls move

out.

 

obscured

direct positives,

exposed.

 

kettle, kindling.

 

i make photographs,

cook

in silence.

 

he sits

by the windows

throwing

lamp-light, glances.

 

 

 

Brandi Katherine Herrera holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Pacific University, and is the author of the chapbook “the specificity of early spring shadows” (Bedouin Books, 2013). 

Photo by author

Still Life with Eel Grass, Sand

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