DOORWAYS

DOORWAYS, by Jennifer Crow, art by Simon Walpole

 

 

Touch the wood, rough with age

and peeling paint. Sun has poured

its afternoon heat into the grain,

the brass knocker hot enough

to sear flesh. No eye peers at you

through the cracked glass

of the little window, and beyond

you see only darkness,

the promise of a long corridor

awaiting your arrival. A stone wall

holds the door in place,

each side crumbling to reveal

a basement half full of dead leaves

and memories. Lift the latch

as sunset burnishes the day

to rose-gold. It will take all

your strength to move the door

on its rusted hinges, and they shriek

at your efforts. When at last

it gapes wide enough to let you pass,

you take a step, hand drifting

to touch the hilt of your sword

because this place holds magic

older than its foundations,

and fate awaits you beyond

the shadowed hall you walk.

 

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Jennifer Crow’s work has appeared in a number of print and electronic venues over the past quarter-century. Her short poem, “Harold and the Blood-Red Crayon” was a co-winner of the 2023 Rhysling award from the Science Fiction Poetry Association. Curious readers can catch up with her on Threads @kythiaranos, or on Bluesky @writerjencrow.bsky.social.

 

Simon Walpole has been drawing for as long as he can remember and is fortunate to spend his freetime working as an illustrator. He primarily use pencils, pens and markers and use a bit of digital for tweaking. As well as doing interior illustrations for various publishing formats he has also drawn a lot of maps for novels. his work can be found at his website HandDrawnHeroes.