Synkroniciti is thrilled to welcome back multi-faceted artist Jonathan Yungkans from the Los Angeles area. “Those Who Paint the Heavenly Porch, ” which won our “Space” Flash Fiction Contest, explores the possibility of consciousness extending past reality, returning us to our loved ones. “All that matters is the time we have together, however it comes or is measured.” The quirks and shortcomings of human perception and experience are whimsical, endearing and incredibly beautiful, even, and perhaps especially, when they don’t make sense. “Cafe” is a stunning black and white landscape photo of an abandoned Cafe/Gas Station in the desert. It’s an edgy and beautiful capture, creating an apocalyptic sense of what remains when humanity is no longer present. The last element of Jonathan’s trilogy on “Space” is a stunning prose poem, “And Where Do the Scraps of Meaning Come From?” Shadows on the face of the moon lead him to think of his mother, who gave up her childhood dream of being an astronaut to raise a family. But the Milky Way won eventually, as it “Took her piece-by-cosmic-filament over decades to form a far-off constellation.” The ambiguity of mortality is achingly lovely in all three works.
Experience Jonathan’s trilogy in Synkroniciti’s November 30th issue, “Space,” Vol. 5, No. 4, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Jonathan Yungkans listens to the pouring Southern California rain in the wee hours of what some call morning and others some mild form of insanity and types while watching a large skunk meander under the foundation of a century-old house. He is thankful when his writing is less noxious than that jittery creature on the other side of those floorboards. During what some choose to call normal hours, he works as an in-home health-care provider, fueled by copious amounts of coffee while finding time for the occasional deep breath. His poems have appeared in Gyroscope Review, MacQueen’s Quinterly, Panoply, Unbroken and other publications.