Some people meet the way the sky meets the earth—inevitably, and there is no stopping or holding back their love. It exists in a finished world, beyond the reach of common sense.
Louise Erdrich
Variation on a Theme
This photo was taken by Larry Fink at the young age of 19. It seems that often we are the most intuitive about other people when we are young. I love everything about this photograph - the bottom of her calloused feet covered in dirt, her tired eyes and solemn expression, the weight of her body on the ground, the way she is oblivious, or perhaps indifferent to the significance of the artwork behind her. It is a look of sheer exhaustion. I know that feeling. She just finished a 3 hour rehearsal that she barely made it through after a long day of waiting tables. She was off her balance and distracted by worries about paying the rent. She is sitting there after catching her breath and cooling down, overwhelmed that she has to get up the next morning to start the tireless cycle again. The resolve in her eyes is profound. The life of a dancer is filled with days like this; punctuated by moments of intensely raw emotion and sheer happiness.
The painting in the photo is by Moses Soyer.
