Glaciology

Ode to a Photographer

6 Ode to a Photographer Pictures of developments half-built, white PVC pipes Jutting like bones from denuded ground, workers Feeding branches to a chipper, halogen-lit mounds Of sand at night, men smoking in front of the justice building, Landfill mountains of plastic and torn fabric and animal Decay, Walmart parking lot, barges bearing slag Down a godless river, new building facade still covered In Tyvek plastic panels, work crew shearing crumbled Concrete balustrades from the one-lane bridge . . . He would check the items off his list of ugliness After each shoot, having only one rule: he could not Choose frames for beauty, only truth. He swore he knew The difference. It was more than enough work for a lifetime. ...