Group Photo- Mohammad Kheder

Every year for the past fifteen years

they take a group photo.

As they gather,

they read the stories

from the previous year

noting the joys and sorrows,

the aging and transformations,

the weight gain and the presence

or absence of loved ones.

Year by year, they stand before

the living biography of

their lives

marking the changes in one another

from new brands to the impact

of political news,

from signs of pregnancy

to the results of the football league.

Some are absent from the most recent pictures,

having left but still holding a place within the group,

as if a tremble had passed through the photographer’s hand.

And yet, they say very little each year.

_______________

From the book Development by :

Mohammad Kheder

Translated by Mira El Hayek