Photography, 24” x 36”, Framed

Background

By Michelle Pruitt 

behind the smiling faces in a photograph

out of focus in the distance

there are telephone poles

rooftops

billboards

palm trees and distant mountains

I don't recognize those people—  

shoulders touching, arms entwined— 

I never saw those smiles, her yellow t-shirt, his ripped and faded blue jeans,

but that view

that place,

is someplace

somewhere I once stood looking out the window,

breathing in a haze of cigarettes

smog

coffee

the dust on the painted sill,

studying the background.