Photography © Jennifer Matthews

 

8:53 PM, 10/14/2025

I noticed myself first in the window
When I was passing my eyes alongside my hand
My hand had broken out in white spots
Which it did whenever I got nervous or the temperature
Rose over ninety-degrees

Cold water is the rising above grief she used to say
It was a cozy way of dealing with the blight of the soul I thought
Staying in what was capable and learning however, intermittent
That the image in the window that day was more than me

According to the height of my person it could have been anyone
But there I was discontinuing the run of my soul
Stingily, the wrath of your Buddhahood will present itself in a raw fashion
Leaving you to practice
Sitting in repose, heightening your spirit, and realizing that your breath
Is the most grandeur you have

 

Chris Mansel is a visual artist, musician, and writer who lives in Florence, Alabama. His works have been published in various sites and publications over the last thirty years. He has published twenty books, two of which were art books. He has collaborated with Jake Berry on the group The Strindberg’s and has put out music in his own band dilapidation Impromptu.

Poet/Photographer Jennifer Matthews’ poetry has been published in Nepal by Pen Himalaya and locally by the Wilderness Retreat Writers Organization, Midway Journal, The Somerville Times, Ibbetson Street Press and Boston Girl Guide. Jennifer was nominated for a poetry award by the Cambridge Arts Council for her book of poetry Fairy Tales and Misdemeanors. Her songs have been released nationally and internationally and her photography has been used as covers for a number of Ibbetson Street Press poetry books and has been exhibited at The Middle East Restaurant, 1369 Coffeehouses, Sound Bites Restaurant in Somerville and McLean Hospital.