Frank J. Tassone
Montebello, New York, USA
Encountering the Apparition
The fair at Patriot’s Park in North Tarrytown bustles with people. Kids scream on the Flying Saucers and the Tilt-o-Whirl. Not so much on the carousel.
Then there is the haunted house.
I walk up its dark entryway. Turn left. See a flashing strobe-light. And a familiar figure:
Jesus Christ.
He sits bare-chested, his cross over his shoulder. His eyes meet mine. His face is a portrait of resigned agony. Blood runs down the side of that face from his crown of thorns.
I run from his apparition, his suffering.
A lifetime later, I haven’t stopped.
echoing footsteps
shriveled leaves under
blooming maples
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