Synkroniciti is delighted to welcome back writer and visual artist Leslie Archibald of Houston, Texas, with an eye‑catching photograph, Stand Out. A field of sunflowers stretches into the distance, a living carpet of yellow and green. Directly before the camera, one radiant bloom rises above the rest. Those nearest her seem to bow their heads. If we allow ourselves to anthropomorphize, we might imagine them as modest attendants while the central flower claims her beauty and her moment in the sun.
There is a spark in her stance—a quiet ignition. Sunflowers have always followed the sun, but this one commands it. In the context of our Audacity theme, she becomes a figure of fire: the one who dares to rise, to catch the light fully, to risk being seen. For centuries, flowers have served as stand‑ins for women, and Leslie’s composition carries a subtext that glows beneath the surface: Ladies, don’t be modest. Don’t shrink. Let your fire show. Even the title, offered as an imperative rather than a noun, reinforces this call to confidence and unapologetic presence.
View Stand Out in Synkroniciti’s Audacity issue, Vol. 8, No. 1, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Leslie Archibald, writes poetry, flash fiction, and nonfiction in a tiny home office in Houston, Texas. When she is not writing, you may find her roaming the city photographing Houston’s unique character, dabbling in watercolors, and exploring genre-bending and multimedia literature. She was the board treasurer/secretary for Writespace, a Houston literary arts center, and currently works at a full-time office position while writing and editing part time. Leslie is a slush reader and nonfiction writer for Interstellar Flight Press. Her award-winning flash piece “Sherry Baby” is included in the special section of Companion of the Ash released in December 2018, her work may also be found in Tales of Texas Vol 2, Synkroniciti Vol 5 No.4 and Vol 6 No.4, The Best of Interstellar Flight Magazine: Years 2, 3, 4 and 6, and online at Interstellar Flight press magazine. Her poem “She Dances in Indigo” was chosen for Colorstory2023. Her chapbook Poems for a Broken Marriage Man is now available from Finishing Line Press. Her visual art has been displayed at Sabine Street and Hardy and Nance Studios.