this is a photograph of me

Margaret Atwood

It was taken some time ago.
At first it seems to be
a smeared
print: blurred lines and grey flecks
blended with the paper;

then, as you scan
it, you see in the left-hand corner
a thing that is like a branch:  part of a tree
(balsam or spruce) emerging
and, to the right, halfway up
what ought to be a gentle
slope, a small frame house.

In the background there is a lake,
and beyond that, some low hills.

(The photograph was taken
the day after I drowned

I am in the lake, in the center
of the picture, just under the surface.

It is difficult to say where
precisely, or to say
how large or small I am:
the effect of water
on light is a distortion

but if you look long enough,
eventually
you will be able to see me.)

     I thought this poem was very interesting. It doesn't have a rhyme scheme, and it tells a story.  The first stanza doesn't me straight out tell you it's a photograph, but can easily be assumed by the description she gives...or the title.  She describes the picture to be blurry and not easy to decipher.  In the second stanza, the photograph becomes more visible, and objects can be made out.   She mentions a tree branch of either a Balsam or Spruce tree, both "Christmas" trees, which hints that the photograph was taken in the winter. The third stanza she goes on to describe more of the photograph, which also contains a lake.  The rest of the poem is in parenthesis.  The fourth stanza reveals that the picture described above was taken the day after she drowned.  The next stanza reveals that she is in the picture.  I think the reason Atwood said that she was in the center of the picture, just under the surface because it seems like if something was in the middle of the picture you would definitely notice it but it wasn't mentioned when she described the picture earlier.  She described everything but the center of the picture.  The "just under the surface" may be a reference to her emotions.  It isn't clear whether or not her death was an accident or suicidal.  This hints more to a suicide because she might have felt unnoticed or under the radar.  The next stanza I took more of a self reflection of herself.  She didn't know where exactly she was in the picture, or in life.  She wasn't sure whether or not she was large or small (important or not important).  The final stanza simply states that if you take the time to really look, below the surface you'll see her.