Definitive (Poetry)

If I had to choose one single image than defines you
from all of these on show —
one that tells me who you are,
reveals more of your inner self than perhaps
you realise or might feel comfortable with —
it would be one you’d never guess I’d pick, or why.

All the many photographs of you say something
and, taken as a collection, say a lot —
but mostly about youth and the modern
view of female beauty —
the person that you are is clearly represented in each frame
but gets a little lost in all the art.

The one I’m thinking of’s an unposed profile —
a simple shot grabbed as you half-turned, dreamy
and thoughtful — your child-face showing through
for that brief moment, the almost-woman confidence
discarded, shrugged off like a skin —
the camera snapped and caught you looking real.