i got a second hand film camera
a pentax k-1000
already it was slightly rusted
and stained in some parts
but i didn't mind
it made me think about its story
and the stories of the ones who've owned it before—
where has this camera gone?
what has it seen?
did the previous photographers behind it
love it as much as i do now?
whose very hands have twisted the lens,
fixed the camera's focus,
and pressed the shutter button?
who else has meticulously loaded and unloaded film into it,
time and time again?

and more importantly,
will i be able to capture wonders of life
through its lenses
in the same way others might have done before me?

you're trying to focus on the image
but your eye only catches the dust
floating a foot in front of it
you're either focusing too hard
or not focusing at all
your eyes are broken camera lenses
and your brain is melting plastic
you can't function
and you're pieces are falling out

The CAMERA that rolls behind a silent film,
Is most distinctly heard -
Lest what Angels gift the snowy valleys,
May mystify His every word.

I want you to understand
that I turn everything that matters to me
into an item of personification
I want to scream to you that
when I see your hands stretched out of the car window,
I need to capture that exact moment and
turn the contrast bar all the way up
I thank whatever is above us that you can't feel the way my heart beats
and that I can't ever express it correctly
****, I'd love for you to be able to feel things
Just as deeply as me and
the knots in my stomach are a constant reminder
of the *** holes in the road
As if they are screaming at us
as we drive over them
I hear them all night long, however,
I cant seem to focus on anything but the *******
contrast bar

my eyes are like a camera,
clicking away at the view.
my heart is like a locket,
keeping a picture of me and you.

we don't need a filter,
to maintain model shots.
it's best when it's stolen,
like it is with our hearts.

the process will be long,
but we know it's worth the wait.
for the best pictures are the memories,
which we patiently create.