Study in Light

By Dagne Forrest

Inspired by photo, After House #3, Providence, Rhode Island, 1976 by Francesca Woodman

the woman is a wave // choosing to remain // in the form of lath and plaster // ribs full of music // when the building contracts // with winter’s fossilization // or breathes // into spring’s sunlit decay // she never stops moving yet // is forever stilled // the spray // of her tidal shape anchored // by a single dark shoe // deepwater gaze trained on us // from the shadows

the woman is a wave // harmonic distortion // creature of abandoned places // a willful occlusion here // and not quite here // caught // in a present unending // breaking like salt water // as she spills from mottled light // entirely into shade // with a look ferried // to the depths // inscrutable // impossible to ignore

the woman is a wave // ringed by flotsam // the dereliction of a form // in the final stages of living // once only particle // she knew she didn’t have long // saw how to persist as a wave // inviting us to look // and absorb her light // for as long as we can bear // the sea-going silence