Path of Fire - a collection of poetry

 Path of Fire

(For my Father)

We skipped church and

went into the woods instead.

As the sun streamed through the trees

tossing patches of light

on the ground,

we gathered twigs and branches

which he stacked with care,

kindling wood first

big logs on top. 

He lit the fire,

holding the match

into the middle of the pile.

It has to burn from the inside, he said.

The first flames leapt into the air.

then died down

hissing and spitting
and turned into a steady glow.

We roasted shriveled
winter apples,
peeled the scorched
skin with a knife.
Busy eating, I let the deer
graze safely in the
echo of my young girl’s voice.

The photo with the guilded edges
shows him behind a mug
overflowing with beer.

He faded in steps,
fingers trembling
as he tried to light his cigar,
hiking boots shined and unused,
dreams about death,
coffin,
urn.

He left me his watch,
his rebellious mind, his
love of wine, of the
fire I now build on my own,

always trying to remember
to light it in the middle,
spread the embers evenly
and let it burn
slow, hot and steady.

Six Stars for The Brevity of Roses by Linda Cassidy Lewis

Every once in a while, I come across a work of literature, which is not only fascinating, entertaining, and moving, but which touches me on a deeper level. The Brevity of Roses by Linda Cassidy Lewis is one of those books.

The Brevity of Roses is a story about love, the power and beauty of love as well as the fear it can trigger and the pain it can cause. Love is what the three main characters—Jalal, Meredith, and Renee—struggle with.

Jalal, a handsome American-Iranian poet from a well-to-do family escapes a life of drugs, alcohol, a career he hates, and a lot of superficial relationships by moving across the country from New York to California. He finds love and embraces it but when tragedy strikes, he withdraws from life. Underneath the shiny veneer he presents to the world, he is slowly dying. Meredith, an anthropologist, struggles with feelings of guilt toward her former husband which hold her back from giving her heart fully, and Renee, a waitress and survivor of childhood abuse and neglect, falls in love but when it gets serious, her first reaction is to run. But it is the tenacious Renee who ultimately manages to break down the walls Jalal has built around himself and forces him to face his demons, a grief so deep it threatens to undo him.

While reading this book, I was often reminded of a quotation by May Sarton in her book Mrs. Stephens Hears the Mermaids Singing: “Love opens the door into everything, as far as I can see, including, and perhaps most of all, the door into one’s secret, and often terrible and frightening, real self.”

The Brevity of Roses is a carefully crafted, beautifully told story. The characters are complex and believable, flawed but loveable. With vivid descriptions, the author manages to engage our senses, our thoughts, and our emotions. And, without any explicit love-making scenes, she creates a highly charged and sensuous atmosphere.

Masterful debut novel by a talented author. I look forward to more of her work.

German Translation of The Skull Ring by Scott Nicholson

The German translation of The Skull Ring by Scott Nicholson - Der Schädelring - is now available at Amazon for the Kindle (click on the image on the left) and at Barnes & Noble for the Nook. It is also available in various ebook versions at Smashwords.

Die deutsche Übersetzung des Romans The Skull Ring von Scott Nicholson - Der Schädelring - ist nun für den Kindle eReader bei Amazon (durch Klicken auf das Buch links) und für den Nook bei Barnes & Noble erhältlich. Es ist zudem in verschiedenen eBuch-Versionen bei Smaswords verfügbar.

Kurzbeschreibung:
Julia Stone wird sich erinnern, selbst wenn es sie umbringt.

Mithilfe einer Therapeutin versucht Julia, Kindheitserinnerungen aus der Nacht, in der ihr Vater verschwand, zu einem Bild zusammenzufügen. Wenn sie einen Silberring findet, auf dem der Name „Judas Stone“ eingraviert ist, schleicht sich die Vergangenheit bedrohlich an sie heran. Jemand hinterlässt eigenartige Nachrichten in ihrem Haus, obschon die Tür verriegelt ist. Der örtliche Handwerker bietet seine Hilfe an, aber auch über seiner Vergangenheit liegt ein Schatten. Und der Polizist, der das Verschwinden ihres Vaters untersuchte, folgt ihr nach Elkwood, einem Dorf in den Appalachen Bergen von North Carolina.

Nun ist Julias Kopf voller Erinnerungen, doch sie weiß nicht, welche echt sind. Julias Therapeutin scheint ihr Spiel mit ihr zu treiben. Der Handwerker versucht sie zu auf mehr als eine Weise „zu retten“. Zudem lauert ihr ein unheimlicher Kult auf, der nach ihrem Körper und ihrer Seele trachtet . . . .