A wise yet sad Old Man., a photo from Mugla, Aegean

Photographer's Note

At the noisy end of the café, head bent
over the table, an old man sits alone,
a newspaper in front of him.

And in the miserable banality of old age
he thinks how little he enjoyed the years
when he had strength, eloquence, and looks.

He knows he’s aged a lot: he sees it, feels it.
Yet it seems he was young just yesterday.
So brief an interval, so very brief.

And he thinks of Prudence, how it fooled him,
how he always believed—what madness—
that cheat who said: “Tomorrow. You have plenty of time.”

He remembers impulses bridled, the joy
he sacrificed. Every chance he lost
now mocks his senseless caution.

But so much thinking, so much remembering
makes the old man dizzy. He falls asleep,
his head resting on the café table.

Romano46, jhm, pajaran has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Royaldevon (86480) 2014-12-05 0:52

Hello Iain,

Oh, what a poem to accompany this fine portrait!
The man certainly appears to be reflecting on life; you have achieved 'mood'.
It's a fine close-up, sharply defining his facial features and using a shallow dof to great effect.

Kind regards,
Bev :-)

mesutilgim (0) 2014-12-05 1:15

Hello Iain,
Very nice portrait of this old man in Fethiye, taken with perfect pov. A face thousand words.
TFS and have a nice weekend
MESUT ILGIM

Gerrit (62042) 2014-12-05 1:26

Hello Iain,
Fine close portrait.
He sure looks sad. If he is wise, I doubt it; the man in the poem sure is not.
regards, Gerrit

Romano46 (18472) 2014-12-05 2:13

Ciao Ian
un ritratto nella quale l'espressione del soggetto appare assai intensa e ricca di significato.
Il taglio deciso aiuta ad evidenziarlo
Complimenti
Ciao e buona giornata
Romano

jhm (211738) 2014-12-06 0:40

Hello Iain,

Thank you very much for your notes.
I know what is be old, (I am maybe older than the man on the picture) but I try to remain active only for the spirit, this very important, with my bike and my camera everyday in the nature.
Your picture shows perfect the spirit of your note.
Pleasant portrait to look at.
An excellent composition.
Very well done, TFS.

Have a nice weekend,
John.

rychem (72187) 2014-12-06 9:24

A face with character, beautiful portrait with perfect details, I find a touch of romantic mood in this photo
regards Ryszard

Cricri (176) 2014-12-06 10:42

Hi Iain
Gros plan serré sur le visage de ce monsieur a la barbe poivre et sel, netteté excellent, belle couleurs qui entoure son visage, très beau portrait
Belle soirée
cricri

Waylim (25436) 2015-01-12 16:33

Hello Ike,

Excellent and compelling portrait, there must be so much story behind such face. Really good close up and the expression really touches me emoitonally.

W

pajaran (117077) 2022-06-30 7:54 [Comment]