Please join Synkroniciti in welcoming back the first artist of “Haunting,” poet and writer Leslie Archibald of Houston, Texas. In the spirit of haunting’s larger interpretation as that which disturbs, even oppresses us, Leslie presents us with a trilogy of boldly vulnerable poems expressing how domestic abuse continues to haunt the abused even after separation and the death of the abuser. “Fog” describes a nightmare. Running to escape the fog coming off sea graves as it thickens into bitterly cold ocean waves, she tries to come home and inside, but the abuser is there, laughing: “I reach for the door// then hear you turning the lock.” This is a powerful metaphor for the internalization of abuse, the way part of us continues to project the lies we are told about ourselves and reject the self-determination of our identity. “Born of Night” continues this thought, going as far as to say that this haunting is a result of a demonic deal to punish her for leaving, even after his death. The imagery here is quite striking, particularly “Now you stand over me/ Morpheus’s shadow behind you dark/ wings raised you reach out seizing bits/ of streetlight that trickle through/ my window.” “I Saw Death on the Parkway” completes the series, a daytime vision of a striking personage on the roadside. She feels certain this man is Death. “Always there,/ always willing to lead the unaware from this world./ I pulled around to get a closer look, maybe offer him/ a ride. I wanted to touch him to see if he was real.” When he turns to look her in the eye the vision is completed and her concentration shatters with unexpected recognition.
Read Leslie’s insightful and beautiful poetry in Synkroniciti’s “Haunting” issue, available for pre-order here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Leslie Archibald, a graduate of the University of Houston, 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 is the board treasurer for Writespace, a Houston literary nonprofit 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. In addition to her award-winning piece “Sherry Baby” included in the special section of Companion of the Ash released in December 2018, her work may be found in Tales of Texas Vol 2, Synkroniciti Vol 5 No.4, The Best of Interstellar Flight Magazine: Years 2, 3 and 4, and online at Interstellar Flight Magazine. Her poem “She Dances in Indigo” was chosen for Color:Story2023.