Stewart Florsheim

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Double Exposure

Was the photo in fact an accident:
the two men apparently gazing into each other,
admiring qualities each one thought he himself lacked—
to be confident walking into a room filled with other men,
or to have the ability to turn one’s self-doubt into art.
Or perhaps the men are simply admiring each other:
their openness, sense of humor, irreverence.
 
Perhaps the photo was not an accident
and the men are proud to show their vulnerability—
after all, how many men would stand in front of a camera
this exposed, all the more so because
they are fully clothed, standing under an elm tree
in a New York City park, early spring,
the trees still bare and regal.