The man who didn't want pictures to be taken
He keeps his eyes fixed on my pesky Cyber-shot camera,
while whispering to his smartphone with his eyebrows fully arched:
No, officer, he's taking pictures of all kinds of people,
not necessarily of children.
Yes, officer, we're in the JFK park, as I already told you.
A public space, I suppose.
… but he's not getting their consents.
… and he's using a digital camera!
We don't know what he's going to do with these images.
He can land rocket man's funky hair on my head, for all I know.
No, officer, he didn't photograph me.
Constitutional right!
What constitutional right?
He speaks with an accent, officer.
He wouldn't tell me if he's a citizen.
For all I know, he can be an Iranian spy,
or worse, a rapist from you know where...
Suddenly, he stashes his phone in his pocket.
After throwing me another menacing look,
he walks away without issuing an apology.
Adnan Adam Onart
Cambridge MA, 2018