Frames

Even without the flash to give her eyes a demonic
cast, you can see the one on the left’s always
being told by the coach to pay attention.

The teen focuses on the ceiling, her mouth
stretched in the widest possible grin, light
sparking off lipstick, ebony top, shorts,

medal dangling down her chest. Atop her head,
hair spurts from a scrunchie; bobby-pins tame
the locks of her friend on the right. This girl

regards the lens coolly, her mouths’ full bow
juicy, scarlet. Behind her left shoulder,
the red Samsung camera held by a teammate

displays the duo in miniature.
This photographer is known to us only
by her wrist and hand because the framer

of the larger picture has cut her out,
leaving us to speculate on the happy chaos
that bathes these cheerleaders after the contest:

siblings texting, aunties cooing, boyfriends
shuffling, moms commanding, dads ruefully
calculating number of trips to the car

as they eye sneakers, uniforms, cases
piled in the photo’s lower right-hand corner.

Copyright © 2010 by Anthony W. Artuso