Rest Stop, On the Road Again

“Rest Stop,” a silver-gelatin print, was printed from film in a traditional wet darkroom. Following printing, it was bleached and hand-toned in sepia toner. Sepia toning can evoke feelings of the past, or of a memory.

About a year ago, I hosted an ekphrastic workshop for the Women in the Visual and Literary Arts (WiVLA), and “Rest Stop,” was one of the pieces that was used as an artistic prompt.

The amazing and talented literary members of WiVLA wrote some great poems in response to this image. Last year, I shared one of them, which was written by my friend Celeste Budwit-Hunter. The other day, Kathi Crawford, another WiVLA member who attended that same workshop, who reminded me that she had also written a poem. She wanted to include her poem in a chapbook that she’s writing and hoping to get published. I’m honored that she wanted to include an image of my print.

I enjoy photographing old and abandoned buildings. I often wonder about the people who inhabited them, and what became of them. I think that Kathi’s poem captures my sentiments and transports us to that time.

Rest Stop

Wild weeds and grass shoot up
between busted pavements.

Two gas pumps encircle the last century.
One askew; the other not.

Rain-soaked trees climb around the station.
Guard the muted storefront.

This block was once a hubbub of connection.
Now it is empty and overgrown.

As long as there are seeds, roots, and soil,
nature restores itself, dismantling constructions;

but not the memories.

Here, laughter poured from men, like my dad,
who smoked Marlboros and drank stale coffee

before the next shift.

Their children bloomed here,
imagining escape.

Kathi Crawford