There's a certain brightness about this image.
It's levels are perfect; it's curves are seductive.

The exposure, the one thing the camera has complete control over,
is the work of a master.

Yet the vibrance is horrible.
It's color balance is leaning towards red,
it's green channel is completely missing,
and the blue...black.

It abuses the threshold of beauty.

I've tried variations of the theme,
matching the color,
replacing the color,

and yet this image,
that looks so perfect in the dialog boxes,
is brutally ruined
by the mis-mixed blacks and blues.

Life should have a reset button.
One where, after I say something like,
"Oh no sweetie you don't look a day over 39"
could be pushed to erase, purge, these words
from the history of conversations between
my wife and I.

It could be useful to everyone:
the student who failed a test,
the teacher who stayed up watching Survivor instead of grading papers,
the plumber who flushed the toilet too soon,
and the artist whose portrait is perfect, except for the crossed eyes.

Why is it that the more we live,
the more and more we see the need
for something as simple,
yet divinely inspired,
as reset and purge?

I've spent years reading books,
turning the pages for other lives
like a butler, or a slave.

Learning only those things that others taught;
thinking for myself others' thoughts.

How wonderful it is
to have a son!

Freed from high educations constant ringing,
freed from the stress of writing essays,
I learn, I think, I write my own thoughts!

Everything up until now,
my life before my child,
was wasted thinking others
could teach me how to read, think,
live,

and now I know the secret;
you can not cuddle, snuggle, embrace
books.

It's the flowing of ink 
the endless motion of paper turning 
that moment 
when I post my poetry 
that under my name appears 
"Fear of the Shadow" by Olsen W. Potter 
at Amazon.com followed by a red link 

I daydream of publishing my writing 
and people actually reading it

I opened a photo of us 
the one where we're kissing 
under the oak branch 
pre-marriage 
in Photoshop 
just to see if I could make it better 
lighten the shadows 
fix the levels 
apply a soft blur to our edges 

but I guess 8 years 
on an archived CD 
had made that blissfully near-perfect image 
melt

I wish I could photoshop 
your face to be more friendly to me. 
My RAM can't handle the sorrow in your eyes. 
I'd love you if it weren't for that.

It was a just little shop 
on the corner of 10th and Washington. 
I had 10 minutes to kill so I walked in 
and immediately knew I had found my Kryptonite. 
Huckleberry Cheesecake, Caramel Cashew Crunch, 
Fire and Ice, Chocolate Heaven, Pumpkin Spice, 
were in plastic bags all lined up like the firing squad 
aiming their kernels at my heart. 

I have to go everyday now; 
I mean, even the kettle corn is 
faith promoting.

I thought, 
before I get married I should plan my honeymoon, 
so I took down a map and charted a course 
for Coeur D'Alene. 

It seemed to be a 9 hour trip, 
doable, 
but it would be so fun to stop in 
Bliss for a day, 
just enjoying each others company. 
Maybe have lunch in Cable Car Crossing; 
dinner at some diner in Darlington. 

Of course we had to stop in Fernan Lake Village, 
it would be in June and the lake would be green. 
And Horseshoe Bend was a must see. 

By the time the road brought me to Post Falls, 
where I planned on reserving our hotel, 
we would have passed through 
Ireland Springs, Judge Town, Knowlton Heights, 
Quartzburg, Underkoflers Corner, Yellow Dog, 
and Zaza 
taking 3 months, 2 days, and 7 hours... 
before we even got where we were going. 

I gave up; we went to Vegas instead.