Frozen Colors
Color photograph, 2018
Annette Wong
Interstitial
Always, I am leaping.
A gazelle, stotting
back arched
head down.
Say crossing.
Say consciousness.
M. tells me I am hard to know.
I am unreliable
as shape shifters are prone.
Call it adaptation.
How I’ve mastered it—
the way I move between worlds. Seamless
but still—there are stitches.
See how thread treads fiber
how it must vanish
to reappear.
Let me train your gaze.
Adjust the aperture. See the gazelle
in the crosshairs
how she appears
to fly, all fours lifting
from the ground?
Annette Wong is currently an MFA candidate at Warren Wilson. In addition to Lantern Review, her work has appeared in Waxwing and Poetry Northwest. She lives in Los Angeles, where she teaches meditation and practices law. Annette’s writing has benefited from the support and care of teachers and dear friends from Warren Wilson, her Daily Grind group, VONA, Writing Workshops Los Angeles, the Community of Writers in Squaw Valley, the Palm Beach Poetry Festival, and the Bread Loaf Writers Conference. • Photo by Brooke Mason Photography
Tonya Russell is a poet and photographer of color whose works have been published in numerous literary journals. She holds a BS degree in sociology from TWU. • Photo by the author