Brightening Sepia Stares (a poem)

Post date: Jan 20, 2020 12:57:40 PM

By: Abby Walter, Staff Writer

Posted January 20th, 2020

Brightening Sepia Stares

Some say...

if two people

spend enough time together,

they begin to look alike.

I always thought it would take decades,

that maybe,

one day,

I’d see an old couple out walking

and mistake them

for brother and sister.

Now, though,

I question all previous theories,

looking at an old

sepia-toned photograph

of a newlywed couple

who,

instead of matching

his tie to her bridesmaids’ dresses,

seems to have matched

his eyes to hers,

her nose to his,

his cheekbones to hers.

Maybe

the old cameras

are to blame,

for not one figure

in one photo

reveals a trace

of the slightest facial imperfection.

Even an elderly woman’s wrinkles

appear almost nonexistent,

to the point where

she could be mistaken