Wednesday, April 26, 2006

Entry #25

"Images, Portents"
by Tsavo Leone


Day and night he lets the lights burn, afraid of what he might otherwise see.

Constant light is needed, lest the images shift once more. The glow of a full moon or shafts of noonday sun; the glare of a TV in another room: each of these and more might change the painting.

Faces come forth within the trees, tortured and prophetic. Their gaze follows all who pass by, their whispers taunting and vicious. Clouds twist and writhe, contortions wrought upon them from below, images of loved ones and the despised alike.

Each image brings certain knowledge.

Figures might be seen walking the path, familiar yet alien, their details shrouded in every changing brushstrokes as the picture re-paints itself. Nursery rhyme characters, fairy tale images, all twisted out of true, sadistic and malicious.

Three little pigs hound a wolf; Grandma looks on, feasting on Little Red Riding Hood’s finest wears, the Woodsman having felled her with one blow...

The wind can still be heard blowing through the trees, despite the lights burning bright. The clouds still seem to move before the breeze, the trees and bushes still seem to sway. Somewhere in the wooded glen, beyond the image that can be plainly seen, there is a cottage; smoke from the fire in it’s hearth drifts slowly upwards, it’s scent hanging in the hallway above the lights.

And so, day and night, he lets the lights burn, afraid of what he might otherwise see.

11 comments:

Erik Ivan James said...

My imagination followed yours into the painting. Very good.

Bernita said...

Nice eerie touch and a good example of the patterns he sees with the use of pigs chasing the wolf bit..
Would like to see"images of the loved and the despised alike."
And "the wind blows...the clouds move...the bushes sway..." to make it more definite.
Really liked the smoke hanging in the hallway too.

Terri said...

I like the poetic sound of this. Eerie and evocative.

Robin said...

Great job with the haunting imagery. Loved it.

Jeff said...

I agree with Robin, I like the haunting imagery. Good job. :)

JP said...

I liked this one a lot. Especially the twisted-fairy-tales bit.

Bailey Stewart said...

Every childs nightmare wrapped up in 250 words. I liked this.

Anonymous said...

Very nice. I like how you focused on the picture showing how imagination can see what isn't there.

Lyn said...

Nicely evocative, haunting fairy tale style. Ever the editor, though, the second to last paragraph: "it’s hearth ... it’s scent" - both its are possessives, not contractions. Otherwise, nice flow to your story. Lyndon

Bhaswati said...

So surreal! I liked the manner in which the painting and reality blur in this piece. Well done :)

Anonymous said...

Tsavo, great twist and economical use of language in paragraph beginning, "Three little pigs...."
Those twisted observations in the picture were wonderful!

High marks for enjoyment and storytelling.