I looked away from my computer this afternoon – I had just finished a piece that took me a long time to write – and I saw some important elements of my life resting on the table close to my left elbow.

There was my book of poems from Hafiz and my monochrome camera with a 50mm lens. It’s a rare day that I don’t pick up both of these things. I read Hafiz at least once a day, and I take the monochrome out three or four days a week.

This is an important slice of my life, and I had the urge to do a still life with it.