Ricardo Sevilla's Blog

I took this photograph when I was a teenager in Miami Senior High School. It was one of the first portraits I've ever taken for a photography class. I asked my school crush, Zeidy, to let me take her picture. What's interesting enough was that while I took photography in my senior year, it was only with the full intent of napping since all my requirements for graduation have been met. Yes, I would show up to class, place my book bag on the table, and go to sleep. The teacher, Mr. Rodriguez, did try his best to get me to participate, but at the time, I found photography annoying, and I had no interest. I had no interest in anything back then. Everything seemed so.... dull. Uninteresting. Fast forward many years later, a girlfriend at the time gives me an old camera... and I start to play with it.

Every so often, I stumble upon a song that captivates me. Whether it's the underlying melody or the poetry behind the lyrics, something about the song embeds itself within me. It's as if a part of my being sinks into a warm pool of memories that remind me why I am the man that I am today. Some of these memories ache, but the pain is subtle. Some of these memories are wondrous, and the heart is warmed. It's like losing gulps of air within the interlude of your breathing. These compelling songs are the ones that make me turn off all the lights, sit down on my favorite chair, take a sip of my favorite wine, lean backward, close my eyes, and kindly ask Alexa to play. And in darkness, appreciate every note of a very powerful song.

If I was in heaven with you
I wouldn't cry for a long time
If I was in the middle with you
I would be free to speak my mind

Ooh, would you lie down?
See those clothes I'm wearing now?
Tell me where my faith is
Or is it off the road?

Ooh, would you lie down?
Tell me which birds are in the sky
Or which flowers lie at the edge of the wood

If I was in the garden with you
You would tell me how it turned out right
If I was at the table with you
I would see, I'd see your crown

Ooh, would you lie down?
See those books I'm reading now?
Are you in the dark or are you gone for good?

Ooh, would you lie down?
Tell me which birds are in the sky
Or which flowers lie by the side of the road

Next to the entrance to my place is a wall rack of running medals. They remind me of a time where running marathons and races was the norm for me. This year I decided to go back to this norm. Besides... all my running tech shirts are getting old... considering that I have not done a race in over 3 years. I need new medals and new shirts :). 

As I drive towards the Everglades, I notice something. I put on my emergency lights and park to the side. "Daddy, why are we stopping?" my daughter asks. "Look to your right, across the canal. What do you see?" I say to her. "Someone is walking," she responds. "Want to know what I see?" I tell her as I turn on my camera, "I see a man making a fateful decision to leave his hell in search of something better." Through my peripheral view, I see my daughter looking at me, then looking towards the figure walking in the distance. "I don't get it, daddy," she says in a low voice. "You will my love, one day you will," I tell her. And with a melancholic sense, I take my favorite photograph of 2019 thus far.