How Dare I

It’s one summer night

and I’m walking down a dark road.

Not because I live some place remote,

but because I can.

Probably not a good idea.

But no reckless car has passed by.

There are no strange sounds. 

I only hear the owls.

Still - I have no flashlight, and I start to wonder -

why am I doing this?

Then I remember - I love challenges.

I’m wearing short sleeves and shorts.

Mosquitoes buzz my ears.

Only a crazy person would do this I tell myself.

I step into a hole and my shoe gets soaked.

I remember that it rained the night before.

 

I left my car a mile back.

It didn’t break down.

I remember there’s an empty building up ahead.

What am I trying to prove?

I reach the building, the door is open.

With the help of the moonlight through a window

I find a tattered chair.

I sit down and hope there aren’t any snakes.

Just close your eyes.

Sleep for a while I say -

then you can walk back.

So, I sleep.

And when I wake it's morning.

I tell myself - see

you do like challenges.

I now feel invincible.

I start walking back to my car.

I think about getting breakfast at Panera.

Celebrate my bravery.

I see a car coming toward me.

It bounces across the ridges

and ruts in the road.

My car behind it is coming into view.

I breathe easy.

I stay to the side of the road.

Soon the car coming toward me

will pass.

But it doesn’t.

And when it gets closer

I see a man behind a cracked windshield

with a gun pointed right at me.

I ask myself –

are challenges really that important?

2024 (c) Jan Darrow

Dear Readers, 

Happy autumn. I’m looking forward to the changing leaves and cooler temperatures. I love this time of the year! How about you?

Tonight

the river is saffron

like the sun

arranged in bolts 

of heavy silk

and wild gold flowers

the color seeps

between trees 

and strands of dark

while along the bank 

reeds melt into the dusk 

clearing way 

for the stars

(C) Jan Darrow 2024

The Turn of the Screw

The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James was a 12 part series (gothic fiction) which was featured in Collier’s Weekly from January until April of 1898. It is a ghost story I’ve been meaning to read for a very long time. The story is told by a governess who comes to believe that the two children she is in charge of are visited by two former employees who died. The question is..are they really being haunted? Or is the governess descending into some kind of madness. See what you think! I do recommend!