Ivan Louis Whidden
Ivan is on the far left
In the portrait Ivan has a distant
Look, almost a simper—an artefact
Of darkroom doctoring, that persistent
Saccharine retouching, to hide the fact
That we were human beings? And we were,
Despite our mother’s alien curls. It’s more
Believable that Ivan’s slight, demur,
Sweet smirk shows his refusal to ignore
The truth about the universe despite
The 1950s happy families myth.
And is it credible that he just might
Have had an inkling that of all his kith
And kin he’d be the one to see beyond
The usual thinking in the human pond?