Photographs tell us nothing
But that he wore the clothes of his time,
Was lean in youth — does that mean suffering? —
Grim in old age, perhaps from suffering
Or long exposure and the glass begrimed.
This day dissatisfying breeds compulsion —
One seeks some glint, some hint of authenticity
Down through that well, that welling of emulsion,
Always it’s a kinship that the eyes are soliciting.
How were they then: impassioned and stony?
The old photography tells us only
That sitting there, she looked straight ahead,
In customs wrapped, the life inside instead
Caught not at all, nor visionary nor lonely.
Forebear – (Pronounced FOR-bear) An ancestor usually farther back than one’s grandparents; usually used in the plural “forebears” (not “forebearers”); sometimes spelled “forbear(s)” and often confused with the verb “to forbear” (pronounced for-BEAR) meaning “to refrain from doing.” The noun comes from the Old English prefix “fore-” meaning before and “bear” one who is, (a “be-er”) from “been” to be. The verb comes from a similar sounding but different Old English prefix “for-” meaning, among other senses, abstaining from and the verb “beran” to bear, endure.