paul caponigro
MY DEAR SUNFLOWER
Can you grow in the dark,
Or do you need a light?
I will see on a lark
If you grow in the night.
The light grows dim.
Shadows take the day.
I can see you,
Standing up to pray.
Your arms spread out wide.
Your face to the moon.
You never need to hide.
It will be the day soon.
Photographer Veselin Malinov captured this incredible shot of enormous waves along the coast of Portugal
Hit me hard.
Pummel my walls.
Reach my tower.
Dim my light.
But I still stand strong.
Wash away my tears.
Flood my floors.
Climb my sides.
But I still stand strong.
Darken the skies.
Blacken the night.
Moan in fury.
But I will always stand strong.
Somewhere .. Photo by David Soar
I love this picture.
It brings many images to mind.
An isolated cabin somewhere on a rise
of land near a small body of water.
Darkness is surrounding the cabin
but there’s a light inside.
Smoke is drifting upward from the chimney.
Someone is home.
Who lives there?
Why would someone want to live
far from the madding crowd?
Does the person ever feel lonely?
I don’t see a car.
How does this person travel?
I want to peek into the window.
Should I?
Chapter 8
End House appeared through the mist: a massive daunting shadow silhouetted against the black sky. The house stood tall and imposing before its invited guests.
That was how End House appeared to Linda. Her first glimpse of the foreboding house caused her body to shiver. The house resembled all the scary houses in her imagination…and in every gothic novel she’d ever read. But having to face it on this dreary and isolated hilltop…with the wind blowing…sharp branches slapping them across their shocked faces, made the encounter more real and much more horrifying.
Tom, Edward, Mike, and David were already walking up the gravel path, while Gregg, Judy, and Ryan were waiting for them by the massive front door. It was a very quiet group that stood close together…staring up at the dark, menacing structure.
The front of the house faced the mountain with its wraparound porch, wide stone steps, and thick white columns, while the rear had its large patio and built-in pool facing the crashing waves of the ocean. A tall black iron fence—its pointy spikes jutting upward to the sky—encircled the house and pool before following the stairs in its straight descent to the deserted beach below.
Todd threw open the huge steel door and strode in first. Disappearing inside, Todd left them no choice but to trail along behind him.
SUSANNE LEIST 