Tattered and Torn

The storms of life wear on each of us, fraying the edges and batting us around. The hope and the promise in the sunrise of each new day are the backdrop against which we stand up and wave, "I'm here, I'm still here"!

If I hadn't taken this photo myself, I would think that it was a movie set with a fake backdrop. This morning when I stepped out on the porch, the tired flag that once had a bright little blue bird, but is now faded and torn from all the storms that it has weathered, waved wildly in the wind. Last night's storm whipped it around, but it was already pretty battered and needing replacement. I inadvertently had the flash on, but that turned out to be my favorite shot. Somehow, there looks to be a shadow behind the flag, but that's a mystery to me since there's nothing there to cast a shadow on. Is this something that a photography class would explain to me?

I will replace this flag eventually, but, in the meantime, I will admire it for it's courage and endurance.