hard light
by Kateema Lee
by definition
she is an absence
little cut-out girl
with no lucent
light the window
withholds natural
unforgiving
as angle of view
alone
blue-black form
purposeful
a shadow’s silhouette
if removed would she
be missed if kept
would she be missed
transcription
of the unnamed
if lit named If
would she become
a focal figure
muddy contrast
origin fixed
Kateema Lee is a Washington, DC native. Her recent work has been published or is forthcoming in the African American Review, Gargoyle, and PMS: Poem Memoir Story. She is a Cave Canem Graduate Fellow, a Callaloo fellow, a participant of The Home School, and she has a chapbook, Almost Invisible, forthcoming from Aldrich Press later this year.
What surprising, fascinating stuff can you tell us about the origin, drafting, and/or final version of “hard light”? “hard light” is an ekphrastic poem. It started with a wonderful workshop prompt, an image of a little nondescript girl in front of a window, and my love of photography. In the draft, the language of photography and short lines gave shape to my inquiry about the image. That little girl, a “shadow’s silhouette, to me, represents absence and the many unnamed little girls and women who make up the numbers of often ignored statistics. The few girls and women who are named reveal, in many cases, dual narratives. I’m amazed by how light or the lack of light can change perceptions.
Check out the write-up of the journal in The Writer.
Matter Press recently released titles from Meg Boscov, Abby Frucht, Robert McBrearty, Tori Bond, Kathy Fish, and Christopher Allen. Click here.
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Submissions
Poetry, creative nonfiction, and fiction/prose poetry submissions are now closed. The reading period for standard submissions opens again March 15, 2023. Submit here.
Upcoming
09/09 • Rae Gourmand
09/16 • TBD
09/23 • TBD
09/30 • TBD