Category: light

Let there be light

Ian Hunter1 Comment
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The old chandelier had to go

It did not fit our decor

Ornate bronze with fake candles

Candelabra lights hidden by dark shades

Something more modern will replace it

Hand blown glass globes

Filled with stainless steel wire

Arranged on twelve chrome stalks like a sputnik

It was a a delicate task taking it down

Supporting the heavy weight in one hand

While frantically unscrewing with the other

Thankfully it came down without a crash

I peered into the hole in the ceiling

Wondering who looked there last

Probably installed over a decade ago

Perhaps a lifetime since

I wanted to hide a time capsule in the ceiling hole

But there was really only room for the wires

So I left a note instead for the next installer

Handwritten inside a small clear plastic bag

This light was installed in December 2020

The year of the Covid Pandemic

It shines bright as a symbol of hope

Installed to commemorate a new beginning

May your new light shine on you and yours

Bringing you clarity and crystal clear vision

Glowing passionately for a lifetime

Lighting up your world

Beacon of hope

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Bright burning candle

Beacon of hope

Flickering fanned flame

Slow burning wick

Feeding the fire

Molten wax dripping

Candle shed tears

Sad lonely candle

Left burning alone

No birthday cake

No blown wishes

Slow steady burn

Defiant flame flickers

No more wax

Wick burned out

Flickering flame dies

Nobody to witness

The candle’s demise

Candle all gone

Wax drippings remain

Spilled candle blood

Laying in darkness

Hope was extinguished 

Lunar landing map in a time capsule

Ian Hunter1 Comment

The bathroom wall looked great

A lick of fresh paint was all it needed

Until I installed new mirrors with LED backlighting

The light shot across the wall

It was brazenly honest and totally unforgiving

Illuminating every minor imperfection on the surface

Casting infinitely long shadows

The wall resembled a NASA lunar landing map

I considered smoothing it all out

Filling in all the deep craters and scratches

Sanding down all the lumps and bumps

But that would make a huge mess

The backlights would still magnify all remaining imperfections

So I decided to tile the wall

I thought it would only take one day

I soon learned that the wall was not just bumpy

None of the corners were square

The edges were neither straight nor level

I had to make a lot more tile cuts than envisaged

After three days it is almost done

The lunar landing map is now in a time capsule

Hidden behind an array of odd shaped tiles

I wondered why I had not seen the real state of the wall before

Then I realized what was happening

You can look at something a thousand times

You can be totally convinced that you know everything about it

But you never really see anything completely

Until you are forced to look at it in a different way

What fuel do you put in your hope engine

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The only two certainties in life are death and taxes

You might think this quote originated from humorist Mark Twain

You may believe it came from Benjamin Franklin in1789

However it has been traced to earlier origins

In 1716 Christopher Bullock wrote the Cobbler of Preston with the words

Tis impossible to be sure of any thing but Death and Taxes

So maybe the quote should be modified to say

The only three certainties in life are death, taxes

And the uncertainty of who first said this

Uncertainty is with us constantly

We never know for sure what will happen today

Or what tomorrow may bring

You may at any moment be bathed in bright light and happiness

Then plunged into darkness and despair in an instant

You could be jogging along on an aerobic high

Before tripping on uneven pavement and knock your teeth out

You may be struggling to make ends meet

Then suddenly learn of an unexpected inheritance

You may be battling a terrible long drawn out illness

To learn from your doctor that you have completely recovered

Light always precedes darkness

Darkness always follows light

The exact timing of your own change in brightness is uncertain

The only thing certain is uncertainty

Embrace the uncertainty in your life

Use it as fuel for your hope engine

Its just another glass day

Ian Hunter3 Comments

wake up and take your shower behind sliding glass doors

drink orange juice from a glass container

eat your cereal from a fancy glass bowl

put on your glasses to read the back of the serial packet

check your email by tapping the glass screen of your cellphone

before you leave home feed the fish in your glass aquarium 

observe the world outside your car glass windows as you commute

marvel at the stained glass windows of that church you pass daily

sit at your desk and stare all day at the glass screen of your computer

frost those office glass partitions so the bosses cannot see you napping

drive home safely behind your laminated glass windshield

watch that motorcade go by with bullet proof glass windows

after a hard day at the office open a glass bottle of wine

transfer the wine into glass decanter to let it breathe

pour the wine into a fine crystal glass and hand it to your lover

prepare a delicious meal in glassware

peek through the glass oven door while it cooks

open another glass bottle of wine and refill your glasses

then serve dinner on glass plates at a fine glass table

after dinner pour a cognac into a brandy glass and warm with your hands

then just chill in front of your glass TV screen

watch a program on making boats with glass reinforced plastic

its getting dark so brighten up your life with some glass light bulbs

your eyes are getting tired so take off those glass spectacles

take a glass of water upstairs on your way to bed

pause to pay homage to the glass ornaments on your floating glass shelf

smile at the family photographs framed behind glass on your bedside table

reflect on your own outstanding beauty in the bathroom glass mirror

step onto the glass bathroom scales and pretend you will start dieting tomorrow

sleep soundly and try not to shatter your glass dreams

The light switch

Ian Hunter4 Comments

the light switch flicks on

to bathe me in light

and will equally switch off

to plunge me into darkness

always obedient

never judgmental

totally dependable

the light switch never lets me down

patiently waiting

happy in either state

non discriminatory

welcomes anybody to operate it

then came the smart switch

voice operated by Alexa

void of human touch

this switch has a brain

to control its actions

but brains can be unreliable

they don’t always hear what is actually said

Alexa turn on the bedroom light I command

I don’t know that skill she answers

I tell her she is not so smart

she thanks me for the feedback

I start to curse Alexa

as she gives me really smart answers

but the light stays off

in desperation I unplug the smart switch 

revert to manual control

the light switch lives again

forgiving my foray into the smart world

obeying every flick of my finger

without ever answering back

smarter than a smart switch

I love my light switch

Carry it well

Ian Hunter4 Comments

On this beautiful day

The sun came up

Orange rays of light painted the clouds

Birds lined up to watch

A light breeze gifted playful ripples on the bay

The low sun lit up the ripples with flashes of white light

The fairies were dancing on the water again

Relaxing music filled our home

We prepared our minds and bodies for a day of challenges 

Tapping into the positive energy of the sunrise

Giving thanks for being healthy in both body and mind

Wondering why the same world can be so different for others

Thinking back to my time as a first responder

Remembering the day we rescued a 19 year old girl from a heroin overdose

Her heroin addict roommate had raised the alarm

She had stopped breathing when we arrived

We brought her back to life with drugs and oxygen

She had just been released from rehab

Her world was cheap hotels and selling her body for drugs

She probably overdosed again

One day the sun will rise after she had taken her last breath

Gentle music will be filling our home when the hotel housemaid discovers her dead

The fairies will dance on the bay during her autopsy

Birds will sing while her parents grieve at her funeral

We all share the same light from the sun

I choose to see the beauty it brings

Unfortunately some are unable to see what I see

Either through bad fortune or bad decisions

They see a world full of struggle and despair 

The non-judgmental sun comes up every morning 

He brings you your light

Carry it well