I Am More Than A Photo

I am more than a photo

More than frozen light

Or captured angles

Cropped and contained 

In someone else’s frame 

I am more than the stillness 

That flattens my story

Into pixels

Without sound or breath 

A photo cannot tell you

The tone of my voice

The softness in my eyes

The tenderness of my touch 

The heartbeat of my laughter

The quiet strength

In all that I’ve survived 

I am more than the angle

The edit

Or the judgement caught in someone else’s scrolling 

That misses my real unfiltered life 

I am the love I give

The light that I carry

The way I live beyond the frame 

I refuse to let an image 

Steal the truth of who I am

Because I am so much more than you will ever see

In one single photo

By Tanya Cameron