by Tony Schanuel
Retina as Map
I invite you to scan my scan, red-plained retinal images, like the gritty surface of Mars. This topography, its canals and protrusions, its promise of sight, elliptical orbits of life-giving nutrients like pulse and tie-in with the beat of my heart. Glowing images hover over my right shoulder for me to examine while I wait for the doctor to interpret where I might have been in the last year – the shores of some exotic lake, palm trees and dates; caffeinated coffee houses & dismal bars of bourbon & grief; jets with maladjusted cabin pressure; foreign countries with foods that leave me far too happy. She asks me to rest my chin on the plastic strap and peer into the arachnid’s belly. I see my future, my second-worst fear, the gradual dimming of a bright land. Which line can you not read? she asks. I am proud to tell her The very last line, row 6.Perhaps she doesn’t trust me, asking me which pair of alphanumeric symbols is clearer. We dance a pleasant tango until she offers a doctor smile as if to tell me that I’m free to cast doubt onto imaginary shadows. No changes since last year she says. And no evidence of the Big Four. My rover lifts off the hot surface like a cosmic hummingbird. Destination unknown, maps not necessary at this time.
John Dorroh has been writing ever since he was evacuated from his mother’s uterus in 1953. His first poem was scribbled on the bathroom walls with a cardinal-red lipstick. When he was in high school, his family warned him that his Letters to the Editor in the city newspaper would make some waves. He’s been making waves and rocking the boat ever since. Six of his poems were nominated for Best of the Net. Over 400 others have appeared in over 100 journals including River Heron, Kissing Dynamite, Boston College’s Post Road, Feral, and Thin Air. If he were an animal, he’d definitely be a brown bear with an appetite for berries and hot Thai food. He lives in small-town Illinois near St. Louis.
Tony Schanuel is an award-winning photographer and visual artist who has fused a professional background in photography, digital technology, painting and mark making to create fine art that transcends those mediums. His work has been featured in Digital Imaging Magazine, Computer Graphic Magazine, Wild Heart Journal, St. Louis Design Magazine, and is a featured artist in Cyber Palette and Extreme Graphics, two books showcasing digital artists and their work. He has exhibited at the Florence Biennale and his art is held in private and corporate collections including the Fine Arts Museum of Houston permanent photographic collection. http://www.schanuelphoto.com