Camera hangs from calloused fingers
Spanish moss drapes like old sweaters
Porch boards groan under shifting weight
Bayou breathes at heavy eight
Light leaks on expired film
Crawfish shells and gasoline
We develop in the darkroom sink
Watch the swamp swallow everything
Viewfinder frames the rotting rail
Mosquito coil leaves ash trail
Gator eyes glow amber deep
While the last pink light falls asleep
Light leaks on expired film
Crawfish shells and gasoline
We develop in the darkroom sink
Watch the swamp swallow everything
Twelve exposures left to burn
Before the sulfur ferns return
Pickup trucks kick red dust clouds
Radio plays lost and found
Wind the lever, feel the catch
Silver halide, no turning back
Chemical bath stops the clock
Porch light flickers, unlocks the lock
Negative strips hang on clothespin lines
Dripping fixer, borrowing time
Cypress knees pierce black mirror skin
We load another roll again
Light leaks on expired film
Crawfish shells and gasoline
We develop in the darkroom sink
Watch the swamp swallow everything
Dawn cracks over water oaks
Film canister clicks and spoke
Two runaways with stolen light
Chasing ghosts before the night
Light leaks on expired film
Crawfish shells and gasoline
We develop in the darkroom sink
Watch the swamp swallow everything
Light leaks on expired film
Crawfish shells and gasoline
We develop in the darkroom sink
Watch the swamp swallow everything
Shutter clicks on warped pine boards
Bayou keeps what it ignores