Self-portraits on KodacolorVR1000 expired in 1985
Flavia

Our theme for this inaugural roll of film was Self-portraits.

Because it was 37 years expired, I followed to one stop per decade rule, and rated this film at 50. The inspiration behind this series was the poem by Paul Verlaine “Il pleure dans mon coeur comme il pleut sur la ville”, but after revealing the images, I realized they were something else, so I wrote a new sonnet to go with the images.

 

So without further ado:

Pearls, tears, nothing more

Deep in the gloom of this morose winter

I’m feeling melancholic, moody, blue.

Days and nights leave me with nothing but blur,

A dull ache with sharp edges – a spleen flu.

It may not rain outside, still my heart weeps.

It’s made of glass and those tears are like pearls.

With each drop it gets more wet, ‘til it slips;

I cannot hold it, and the hurt unfurls.

When it touches the ground it explodes,

Shatters into a thousand little shards.

This time’s different, not like past episodes,

These small pieces belong in a junkyard.

And I look at myself in the mirror.

What am I left with? Pearls, tears, nothing more.