My copy of David Sylvian’s book Hypergraphia arrived in yesterday’s mail…

The fold in the paper
angles through the photograph
neatly obscuring the cigarette
in the subject’s hand

The tears and textures
at the paper’s edges
hold stains of red wine and coffee
in criss-crossing arcs

The portrait of a man in youth
now shows the signs of age
that also mark his living flesh
soon to pass into history

(24 October 2015—posted October 25th)