.
Slim: You know you don’t have to act with me, Steve. You don’t have to say anything, and you don’t have to do anything. Not a thing. Oh, maybe just whistle. You know how to whistle, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and… blow.
.
The blows of life,
don’t always have to hurt,
they can be gentle,
soothing,
soft breath caressing the nape of a neck,
a prelude to a kiss.
.
A kiss can sometimes hit harder,
than a fist.
.
Bob,
the subject of this photograph,
has a face built to take blows,
as he is a piece of boxing equipment.
But,
he has become a member of our family,
a familiar face.
He may not be human,
may not feel a thing,
but we are human,
and can feel for him.
.
A strange kind of empathy.
.
I took a martial arts class in school,
I failed the exams,
deliberately,
because I refused to play along with the process,
get credits for hurting others,
for no logical reason,
but an illogical one,
to get the accessory of a better colour,
in the rainbow of promotional belts,
by making people black and blue.
.
I preferred to make love not war,
blow kisses instead of other types of blows.
.
[Slim kisses Steve]
Steve: What did you do that for?
Slim: I’ve been wondering if I’d like it.
Steve: What’s the decision?
Slim: I don’t know yet.
[They kiss again]
Slim: It’s even better when you help.
.
.
*for B is for…… Blow
(this shot is the result of the blows my equipment dealt to my original idea for this photography prompt)