Alfred Stieglitz. "Grass." 1933. Gelatin silver print. Image courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Although not for whatever lay dead in the adjacent meadow,
for us the moment was perfect—the sky, sky blue, the sun
burnishing the fresh-washed foliage, the dog, sticks retrieved,
content to lie within reach of a scratch, and the narrative permitting
us a bench and a view of what lay before us: the light green nap
of grass like a billiard table’s baize cloth, turkey vultures cruising
on the thermals in slow circles, their shadows darkening tender shoots
as they descended first to perch on the fence and then to take their turns.