Facade

They were always sepia
the old photographs
and slightly misty,
the technique
not fully developed.
But though sepia,
they seemed dark
and posed and staged,
subjects unsmiling
even the animals
sad and still.
All were caged
in the strictness of the set
and the strictness of the age
when an upright facade hid the darkness behind
where the sepia darkened
and turned brown as primeval mud
in an frightful ancient swamp.
So much has changed.
Now we have colours.
Now we smile for the camera,
it’s allowed.
Even the animals look animated
naturalistic
free
but it’s still a facade
still hiding darkness
in the background.