Black Dogs Are Difficult To Photograph
by posthumous

Comment by posthumous:
Paul, I wish I could say that's exactly what I was thinking.

But thinking gets me in trouble.

The "black dog" is what I call an anchorless allegory, like the Wizard of Oz. It can point to many things. I think much of my poetry is an exploration of the dark side, and depression is a dive into the dark side, so the connection you found is an insightful one, imho.

Black Dogs Are Difficult To Photograph
by posthumous

Comment by grahamgator:
Love the words and I love that you love your dogs. Great series.

Black Dogs Are Difficult To Photograph
by posthumous

Comment by ubique:
Don, you're a very difficult bloke to review. I mean that as a compliment.

Nobody else has mentioned it, but The Black Dog is, as I'm sure you're aware and I presume were intending, a metaphor (courtesy of Winston Churchill) for depression.

So I'm stripping away the photographs and addressing only that: the sense of your poem as a reflection on depression.

Black dogs are difficult to photograph.
They explode everything around them with light.
They get into the darkness of your own head.
Photographing a black dog is like exploring every detail of a shadow.
But a black dog can be even darker than a shadow.
In trying to see the black dog, you enter a blindness.
You get tangled in darkness.
You're suddenly afraid of what you're facing.
You forget how to see. You forget what holds you to this world.
But then the dog reminds you with her leash, whose fluctuations lead you home.

I think the Black Dog Institute would do well to have your poem on their masthead. It touches all the places that depression does, and concludes with a scent of salvation.

Thank you.

Black Dogs Are Difficult To Photograph
by posthumous

Comment by posthumous:
thank you. I just picked a photo that would be the next line of the poem, and then I wrote the line.

Black Dogs Are Difficult To Photograph
by posthumous

Comment by 2mccs:
I love the idea that you took all of the photographs on one walk (just the day before you posted it). So did you write the poem in one day? Did you just look at the photographs and the poem happened? I don't get it. What an amazing thing. I wonder, if I had studied more literature and poetry would I be able to do that? I don't think so. It is a talent I don't understand but I am in awe of. The photographs are perfect. The words made them perfect.

Black Dogs Are Difficult To Photograph
by posthumous

Comment by insteps:
Don, very enjoyable essay that feels like it should be part of a larger collection. Maybe a book? I believe you are getting better at this genre. This has that effortless look that's not effortless at all. It's pure poetry with beautiful relationships between writing and photography. The sum of the pieces is much stronger than the individual parts. I hope you’ll continue down this road a while longer.

Black Dogs Are Difficult To Photograph
by posthumous

Comment by LevT:
it's not an essay, it's a poem (of course!). And I like how it rhymes visually, with the photos, rather than sonically.

private ocean
by posthumous

Comment by daisydavid:
Solitary figures are always alluring. This deserves more prominance.

private ocean
by posthumous

Comment by VBW:
What I like:
- the silhouette of the fish
- mood of the picture

What I don't like
- focus is soft, so the tower (I think it is a tower?!?) feels a bit harsh in comparison. Wish it wasn't there to show off more of the fish tail

Overall: yes, soft focus, but here it works to make the photo moody.

private ocean
by posthumous

Comment by tvsometime:
good murky tones emulating the dark ocean depths, voted earlier