The Lateral Lens project also sees a specially composed poem by Eno Mfon, inspired by the work produced by the young people.

NEVER THE SAME 

By Eno Mfon

They say two days are never the same,

Each morning a new experience awaits,

When you awake and pull the covers away,

Stretch the sleep from your body,

Look out of your window,

And see the world through your eyes,

You cannot disguise its beauty,

You notice it on every crooked corner,

Like a hoarder you take it all in,

Throw nothing aside,

Because you know magic hides beneath the surface,

You just have to search for it,

Look through another lens,

Focus in on the smallest detail,

Like the snail hidden in the grass,

Or the blue nail that matches sky,

Or the guy who flies in his Air Jordan’s,

Never falling, always floating,

Always hoping to find love on Love Lane,

Or find escape from the city to the sea,

The reflection in the water tells a story,

Every ripple and wave whispers secrets,

If you listen closely, you can hear it,

If you look carefully, you can see it,

The light at the end of the tunnel,

The shadowy figure in the puddle,

A huddle of birds flying by,

Hands making hearts instead of waving goodbye,

A sign that makes you stop and take time,

Because beauty is not just in the eye of the beholder

It’s in the imagination of the storyteller,

It’s in the pen, paintbrush or camera,

Held not by those in power,

But by the ones willing to take a second, minute or hour,

To admire the flower in the concrete,

Capture the contrast between the two,

To find the extraordinary in the usual,

Using a camera as a tool,

An extension of your view,

To show the world the world through you,

Through your mind and soul,

With every snap, you're not just taking a photo,

You're deciding what to focus on,

What to highlight with light,

And what to cast in shadow,

What to capture today and save for tomorrow,

What to hold onto and what to let go,

Because each photo is more than a moment,

It’s a memory to hold,

It’s a tale to be told,

Both fact and fiction,

Reality and a dream,

It’s a bit like you and me.

Just as simple and complex as we are,

Each photo a mirror to our own beauty and scars,

Each picture a glimpse into our own heart,

And that is the nature of art,

It is unique and wonderful and strange,

So, pick up your camera, point and aim,

Because no two frames are ever the same.