Louisiana

It is a quiet, cool evening in Louisiana.
Far away from the houses
full of families huddled round TV sets,
the loud click of a camera shutter
breaks the silence.

Each click pierces the air like a bullet.
Each movement of the photographer and her subject in the wind
happens just as swiftly.
Just because the photographer does not feel
what thousands of other women feel for her subject
does not mean she does not understand it,
know it,
see it;
It does not mean she cannot manipulate her subject
to shoot a thousand women's dreams in one double-page spread.
She can.

With the next click, she captures him - tall, windswept and handsome
in damnable tight black pants and an even tighter black shirt.
With this click, the sound is not the familiar mechanic clap -
It is a thousand sighs.
The wind rustling through his hair is a thousand hands
wishing to touch him.
The watchful eyes of his bodyguard are not just his own,
they are his fans - watching, waiting with baited breath,
ready to pounce, to save and protect.

The Louisiana air is cooler now, the sky beginning to pale,
but still the subject poses, calm and patient.
Somewhere on a blog, these scenes are posted.
Women gather on forums, guessing the temperature, time;
making cleverly disguised innuendoes
and trying to fathom whether or not
you can see his nipples through his shirt.
Each click and zoom of the photographer's lens
corresponds to a click and zoom of the photos on the blog.
The photos aren't even official, and already have caught so much attention.

Typical.

As the shoot draws to a close, and everyone heads for home,
the subject - now in a white shirt, black jacket and Ray-Bans,
looking good enough to trigger worldwide sin - is herded by his bodyguard to his car.
The driver begins to morph into each and every female entranced by him.
Their subconscious fools them,
satisfies them,
with the thought that they alone
are taking him home;
One photographer,
One man,
One day in Louisiana
was enough to launch a million fantasies.
With a smirk, the photographer leans back in her seat.
She knows what she has done.
"Just wait," she thinks as the car drives away "until the official photos are released."