by Sean Ewing
The Settling Light
The seasons are not caused by distance to the sun, they are caused by angle of incidence.
– Paul Cezanne
one time I drove to Maine to sleep
by a pond in a tiny house. escaping
a man so false he couldn’t find me
in a place so clean. I ate spartan
watched the light turn pink then
maize humming shuffling ducklings
to beds of golden grain. I had seen
magic light before, in Skye, Agra, but
none that lulled me to sleep so soft. I
thought it was a marriage of earth
and air. a dinosaur I could see because
I finally believed. I thought it was
only there and then today I hold
a mug of tea you made me look up
from our yard and it’s there.
Bethany Shaffer is a writer and high school English teacher living in Maryland. Her work has appeared in The Prague Post, Provokator, EmDash, and The Return of Kral Majales anthology. After a decade-long hiatus she has recently returned to the page in earnest and is grateful to Feral for the warm welcome back.
Sean Ewing is a visual artist inspired by nature’s quiet interplay of light and shadow. His work captures fleeting beauty and offers a contemplative refuge, inviting viewers to pause, reflect, and find calm amid the noise of daily life.