The Photograph
by Theodora Goss

Forgive me, he said,
for sending you a picture of myself.
But there, you see, in the background
are some interesting hills,
and on the lake there is a heron
as blue as the lake.

I forgive you, I told him,
for sending me a picture with a lake,
some hills, and a great blue heron,
even though they distract
from what, to me,
is the object of primary interest.

(The image is a vintage advertisement for a Kodak camera.)