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it’s how he sees the world
a monochrome television screen
hiding the hues
in scales of grey
light and dark fight
to dominate the shadows
his recesses cut off
colourless
even the sun feels cold
it’s white light never finding
the prism in his soul
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Lee Friedlander (born July 14, 1934) is an American photographer and artist. In the 1960s and 70s, working primarily with 35mm cameras and black and white film, Friedlander evolved an influential and often imitated visual language of urban “social landscape,” with many of the photographs including fragments of store-front reflections, structures framed by fences, posters and street-signs. (sourced from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Friedlander)
Here are some more of his images.
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Written for Magpie Tales photo prompt # 88
Excellent poetry Jo…. Years ago I used to do colour-blindness tests.. as I worked in the Textile trade, and shades were important.. its surprising how many men are colour blind and do not perceive the colours the same as their true colour..
I often wonder too how animals see colour too… see you have my thinking.. so pleased I see in colour and that we live in such a vibrant and colourful world.. if only many would open their eyes and truly see…
Have a great week my friend xox
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Colourblindness runs in my ex’s family – he sees in B & W. I was worried it would be passed on to my kids but luckily they see fine. But the photo got me to thinking how it is more than lack of colour vision that leads people to see in B & W sometimes.
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What a clever, creative take on the prompt, Jo! I especially like the last 3 lines.
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Thank you Laurie 🙂
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I am literally colourblind..but not to this extent. Maybe poetry has cured me?
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Poetry could do that for you !!!!!!!!
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Jo,
A very moving thought, as to the plight of being colourblind.
Black and white images, are much more impacting, at least in poetic terms, I think!
Eileen
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I would hate to miss all the colour in my life – I really would.
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A nice take on all those prism-like reflections. My Magpie Tales this week is In Vince’s Car.
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Thanks Roy !!!
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Good take on the prompt. I like the way that without colour even the sun is cold.
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Thank you for telling me that 🙂
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ooo really like your close…the sun never finding the prism of his soul…great description there….
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Thanks Brian – love that you liked it !!!
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Enjoyable, imaginative response to the prompt…
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Thanks 🙂
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Such incredible depth in this piece!
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Great to hear you think that 🙂
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My ex-husband is colour blind. He used to say things like, ‘Put that brown dress on’ and I’d say I haven’t got a brown dress’ and we’d argue til I discovered he meant my red dress!
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I didn’t know mine was for ages – and all along I’d benn asking if this went went with that and he’d been agreeing with me – should have known then something was up with him. Hehehehehehe
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Really interesting take. I also know two males who are color blind. But, I’m sure they see things we don’t capture with our eyes. I like my color, though. : )
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They do – my ex saw tones that never registered with me because he wasn’t distracted I suppose by the colours…
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You bring out the problem with great words.
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Thank you Anthony
🙂
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there is a cool steel melancholy to this Jo that I find engaging, perhaps familiar at times…
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Thanks Rob – love your take on it 🙂
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Jo, thank you for dropping by my blog. I’m happy you beamed yourself all the way from New Zealand and happier still that my Magpie post resonated. I don’t think I’ll ever forget how I felt when we left our daughter in Chicago or how I felt when my parents turned and left me in that small college dorm room in middle Georgia. And the leave-taking is ongoing.
The “prism” of his soul is wonderful. The cold sun in b&w. Spare and glittering, this poem. Kathryn
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The leave-taking never stops. They leave in so many different ways . I tell myself that tells me I did my job as a parent, because they are able to leave and do their thing.
So glad you liked this Kathryn.
🙂
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A beautiful poem.
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Thank you.
🙂
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Yes … this is beautifully written. Our souls do have many shades, many prisms.
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Thank you – I love that you say that.
🙂
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this reminds of that movie Pleasantville…wonderful Jo
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Thank you Rene
🙂
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Aw, this made me sad. 😦 I have a friend who is color blind and I always thought how much he was missing by not experiencing certain colors! Well written piece, though.
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My ex always told me that he never knew what he was missing.
And he could see tones much better than I could.
🙂
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Awesome work! I’m in a New York state of mind!
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Oh yeah…
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“…even the sun feel cold”…I love that…nice write…
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Thank you Tess – I appreciate your saying that !!
🙂
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This was beautiful, and took the prompt down paths I never saw before your words. Absolutely loved the last line, so many connotations. Prisms sounds like prisons, and he is caught within the prism, unable to see the light it reflects to others. So very powerful Jo, thank you for writing it!
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Why thanks you Cap’n – ‘he’ was and still is in a prism/prison of his own making – terribly sad for all those he touches…
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He obviously couldn’t see the light before his eyes, no wonder color was taken from him. So sad.
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Problem is ‘he’ tends to drain the colour from those around him, and as two of them are people I love – well, it’s hard to watch…
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Color blind cannot be realised by those affected. It can be frustrating. I knew about it only when we were tested before joining the uniformed group at school. Great verse!
Hank
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Thanks Hank – I appreciate what you have to say a great deal.
🙂
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This is lovely, Jo. At first, I actually read it as a person who lived in a screened-in world (i.e. television) because I had skipped over the title. It worked on that level as well. The close is wonderful.
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Thank you – I love what you have to say in this comment – it is wonderful…
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A rather moving piece. I could never imagine life without colour – I have prisms hanging from most windows of my house!
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I find it difficult myself to imagine…
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i know that this comment I am adding has no bearing
on colour blindness but you know I always favour the
B & W photographs over Colour…
It must be a Vampire thingy or something 🙂 😉
I hope that you are having an enchanting Halloween
Weekend Jo and are ready for some treats 🙂
Androgoth XXx
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Happy Halloween Jo
http://andro51.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/johnny-depp.jpg?w=316&h=434
I hope that you like it my great friend 🙂 😉
Androgoth XXx
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I am on my way now to check it out – but I am sure I will…hehehehehe
Oh yes indeedy I did…
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We don’t really do Halloween here in NZ – but it was a good weekend anyway
🙂
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Well I think that you should start it off 🙂 😉
And it would be a good excuse to party 🙂
I hope that you are having a fun evening Jo
Androgoth XXx
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You too…
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