Work samples

  • Much Is Left Unsaid
    Much Is Left Unsaid

    When So Much Is Left Unsaid

    What do I see, 
    when i think of me
    what do i really know 
    of myself? 
    I suppose if i died tomorrow, friends and family would gather and make polite speeches about how i affected their lives. and they would likely leave out all of the shit that's just too real.

    I wonder sometimes if that's how well i know myself.
    just the polite version.

    Recently, a family member, 
    sent out an email 
    and then another
    sent out Facebook post.
    i guess to all the family members and close friends. 
    it was about the grief 
    they were experiencing, 
    tears even, 
    on the anniversary 
    of my dad's death. 
    they miss him terribly 
    now gone a decade.

    I have plenty of memories 
    of my dad that i might have shared at that moment
    but the tone would 
    have been very different
    and not particularly flattering
    and not particularly welcome
    so I said nothing. 
    As i did when this
    anniversary rolled around.
    as I did at his eulogy.

    As i did while he was
    frightening me
    and shaming me
    and humiliating me.

    I didn't visit him 
    on his deathbed
    i had opportunities
    i just didn't use them
    i had nothing nice to say
    and no reason to say it
    so i said nothing
    which now i think
    was exactly what 
    i needed him to hear
    and see.

    Ten years later, 
    i would have made 
    the same choice
    that's just how i feel
    that's just how it is.

    So i wonder, 
    how much does anybody 
    really know about anybody
    and how much do we really 
    see of ourselves
    when so much is left unsaid.

    Available for Purchase

About joseph

Joseph graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 1983, and has since been based in Baltimore, 3 miles from his birthplace. Joseph has shown his work in many local venues, as well as at Denise Bibro Gallery, the Woodward Gallery, and the Edward Carter Gallery in NYC.

Joseph was awarded a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Awards in 2007, 2009, and 2012, and is a 2007 Black Spider Award Nominee and his photographs are found in the following collections:
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The Enigma of Trees

  • Dead Fall
    Dead Fall
    Available for Purchase

The Enigma of Trees

  • Malignant
    Malignant
    Available for Purchase

The Enigma of Trees

  • Creepy Peeper
    Creepy Peeper
    Available for Purchase

The Enigma of Trees

  • Sentinel
    Sentinel
    Available for Purchase