The Battery Comes Inside the Film, Isn’t that Neat?

Bradlee Thomas

Take a Polaroid camera out

because I want to have tangible evidence

and watch as the motors roll it out

and then I’ll take it from underneath the shade slip

and promptly place it in my back pocket.

 

I want an instant photo

not in an attempt

to gain back lacked time.

I want an instant photo

because I want a chemical reaction

outside of my body

or a lithium-ion battery

that will die in 3 years.

 

The most tangible thing that it will ever do

is push your touchscreen from its chassis

which is kind of interesting

until you remember it’s a fire hazard.

 

Instead of a balloon battery,

I really want to buy a special case

and want it slip into its grooves

before I close it from the bottom up.

 

I want a Polaroid

because I only have 8 shots a pop

and when the flash triggers

and the film is blasted

with this map of depth

to be taken one dimensional plane lower

boarded in white

everything becomes perfect

because none of it can be.

 

Maybe we could pool our money

to buy a tripod?

 

I thought that we could screw it stable on top

and we could use our front-facing camera

to look through the viewfinder

and frame ourselves the best we can.

 

It seems a little bleak,

but I’ve always liked to work with what I’ve got.

 

I want the chemicals to catch

the pink of my cheeks

while we thank the new cameras

for adding timers.

 

The first 3 flashes are me running back to you.

The 4th flash is when I settle into your fingers.

The 5th flash, you put your hand in my back pocket.

The 6th flash, I think about the price of this shoot.

The 7th is when I think about how there’s easier film to work with.

During the 8th, I think about how lovely it is

to have a 3.1 in x 3.1 in piece of us

and then remember

I’ll have to switch my film pack out

to get the 9th shot,

but there’s still 1 flash left

so that’s for a little later.

 

The 10th flash freezes in time

the moment when I realized

what this is all about.

 

With your hand still in my pocket,

there will now be 2 chemical reactions

instead of just the one exposure.