Solitary Calm By SuzAnne C. Cole Minute figure in a hand-colored photograph, a fisherman sits comfortably, meditating before the mountain, back turned to museum visitors. His boat a pale, slender arrow, shallow-drafted, single rectangular sail the finely pleated linen of a nun’s wimple. Hourglass sea cradles Mt. Fuji. Sea-stillness punctuated by marshy swaths, grasses like seaweed rising to the sun. On the distant shore, boulders, then foothills dwarfed by Lord Fujiyama, snowy peak echoing the whiteness of the foregrounded sail. Triangular mountain, slanted foothills, shapely water, the calm of that small square man easily riding his spear of a boat. © SeanPavonePhoto - stock.adobe.com
A Good Day for Making Soup By SuzAnne C. Cole is chilly, clouds of gray resting their heaviness against the earth, suffocating sunlight— and good humor. So pull from the pantry what Gramma would gather from her root cellar—onions, carrots, garlic, potatoes, a jar of home-canned naked tomatoes oozing juice. Slice coins of carrots, discs of fungi, dice onions, heat a drizzle of olive oil. Wilt garlic and onions, then carrots. Quick sizzle for earthy mushrooms. Dissolve jarred bouillon in hot water, pour over vegetables, toss in barley, cover. Simmer until almost tender. Meanwhile scavenge leftovers— Cornish game hen hubby grilled on Saturday. Skin, strip from bones, chop into small bits, add to the pot. He grilled summer squash too, Slice the two remaining, toss in. One final addition—leftover wild rice baked for the game hens. Flavors married by twenty-minute simmer fragrant in the steamy kitchen.
© Dar1930 - stock.adobe.com
Bake a multigrain artisan loaf. Toss a salad—greens, nuts, and berries. The sun’s out—in this room anyway— and peevishness erased.
SuzAnne C. Cole, for mer college English instr uctor , enjoys tr aveling and hiking the wor ld and writing from a studio in the Texas Hill Country. Her poetry and short fiction have been nominated for Pushcart Prizes. Recent poetry publications include Ekphrastic Review, Poetry & Place 2015, Vineleaves, Binnacle, and Gloom Cupboard. Halcyon Days - 2016 Issue 3
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