Washington Soldiers Home Cemetery

I've been meaning to stop and see if I could take some meaningful photographs.

I found that black and white photographs emphasize the timeless nature of the gravestones, which are literal stone, a white marble. I left the flag in color because I thought that it acknowledged the reality of the story: the stones mark the death of the soldiers doing their duty, and the flag remains in motion above them, wind-blown.

The graves span a long historical period, from World War I to the present. I think it’s worthwhile to stop and think/feel about death generally; I think that a soldiers life, marked by the traditional upright white tombstone, is worth reflecting on specifically. Lives are both given and taken on this planet, and it’s worth remembering both the individual and collective grief and accomplishments.

This photo feels like the cupped hand of the earth, holding these former lives in remembrance. The wintry colors feel just right.

I have very complex feelings about war: gratitude that I have never been in one; astonishment at the violence; perplexity at the human ability to be crazy enough to make war. That we still do it to this very day makes me sad right down to my soul.