 |
In the Shadow of Leaves
by Franklin L. King
$15.99 paperback
2013, 190 pages, 6 x 9
Cover painting and interior photograph
by Franklin L. King.
ISBN-13: 978-0615823997
ISBN-10: 0615823998
Order through CreateSpace:
www.createspace.com/4292553 |
Following the death of her husband, Anna decides to spend a week on a remote island where she can escape the persistent advice and consolation offered by family, friends and faith. She seeks an island so remote that few know it exists. Her travel agent tells her about an Irish friend who visited such an island, Inishbofin, located just off the west coast of Ireland.
At the island’s inn, the proprietress mentions St. Colman’s Abbey. Anna decides to visits the ruins of the church, and while there, looks through the opening above the altar and sees a small grove of trees clinging to a rocky perch above the shell-strewn beach.
She walks beyond the abbey to see what strange trees grow along such a barren coast. In the shadow of leaves, she senses the presence of another person. Seated on the soft grass is a young poet with black hair and ocean-blue eyes looking seaward.
When Anna asks what types of trees cling to the rock and face the sea, the poet replies:
Shall dreams be given labels?
The answer to your question:
Oak, ash and hawthorn trees.
Unknown to Anna is the Irish legend that if all three trees grow together, one can sit beneath them and see fairies in the shadow of leaves.
*************
Praise forIn the Shadow of Leaves
“We are all on a different pathway in our own spiritual journey and how we deal with events (death) in our lives. Picking up this book, I admitted that my mind was open and ready to heal just like Anna's. Immediately, I knew that this was a book that I would read over and over again. The poem "Simplicity" questioned my life, my journey, and where I want to be.”
—Amy (Amazon.com)
Franklin Lafayette King, Jr. was born in the Panhandle of Texas and spent much of his youth on the Blackland Prairie. He received a commission through the University of Texas in Austin and soon became involved in the Vietnam Conflict. After additional academic preparation, he moved to the foothills of the Appalachians. In addition to combat, he experienced both the eyes of a hurricane and a F-4 tornado, events that were to influence much of his later work. Mr. King is a frequent visitor to Europe from which much of the inspiration for this book was derived. He is the author of Hauntings of a Summer Moon, Sunflowers and Zinnias, The Poet Who Writes Upon Water and The Woman in the Window—all published by Texture Press.
|
|
