Equinox Hope
Artwork by Amanda Young
“Darker evenings are a feature of the Autumn season and impending hibernation. My mind and body respond in unison. Fear of suffocation by the perpetual darkness is relieved by spiritual hope and practical light.”
Amanda Young, BA ( Hons) Art and Design Practise currently studying MA Illustration. She lives in Cornwall , UK and examples of her work can be found on Instagram.
@amandayoungart (Instagram)
@amandayoungart (Instagram)
A Rambling Meditation
Poetry by Oliver Kleyer
CW: Mention of Illness
Fear
is a man’s best friend?
I always thought,
a dog is man’s
best friend.
Given the choice,
I’d rather have a dog
than being afraid.
But sometimes
you have no options.
Well then, here we go:
I’m afraid of the dark,
afraid to be alone, to be
left (it has happened before),
afraid of indecent decisions
by the wrong people in
the wrong positions
and above all,
and despite a very
optimistic prognosis,
I’m afraid that the cancer
could come back.
But there is a
remedy for fear:
Hope (with a
capital H).
Hope can be found anywhere
and it can take many forms,
It can be the little girl
next door, talking encouragingly
to the plants, so they will
grow beautifully.
It can be the taste of liquorice.
Any creature not seeing
a threat in you. And even
a rambling poem in a
literary magazine.
Because Hope searches in
this world what helps the world.
With Hope, we can fight
fear and it also gives us
a tool to put up against
fear’s agents.
So, back on the topic,
fear really is man’s
best friend, because
fear leads to Hope.
Fear
is a man’s best friend?
I always thought,
a dog is man’s
best friend.
Given the choice,
I’d rather have a dog
than being afraid.
But sometimes
you have no options.
Well then, here we go:
I’m afraid of the dark,
afraid to be alone, to be
left (it has happened before),
afraid of indecent decisions
by the wrong people in
the wrong positions
and above all,
and despite a very
optimistic prognosis,
I’m afraid that the cancer
could come back.
But there is a
remedy for fear:
Hope (with a
capital H).
Hope can be found anywhere
and it can take many forms,
It can be the little girl
next door, talking encouragingly
to the plants, so they will
grow beautifully.
It can be the taste of liquorice.
Any creature not seeing
a threat in you. And even
a rambling poem in a
literary magazine.
Because Hope searches in
this world what helps the world.
With Hope, we can fight
fear and it also gives us
a tool to put up against
fear’s agents.
So, back on the topic,
fear really is man’s
best friend, because
fear leads to Hope.
Oliver Kleyer is a teacher and poet from Northern Germany. He writes in German and English. His poems have appeared in Sixpence Society, The Amazine, the "FromOneLine to another" anthology and elsewhere. When not writing or teaching, he's trying to make his mandolin sing.
@funnyfrogget (Twitter)
@funnyfrogget (Twitter)
