The Burning Stem
Summer does not leave quietly. It gathers its heat, pulling the sun into a single, tight coil. A slow burn.

We watch the garden turn. The green fades, yielding to the urgency of the flame. It is a quiet violence, this transformation. A color so loud it demands a silence in return. We stand before it, hands tucked into pockets, feeling the weight of the season as it begins to tilt toward the dark.
There is no hurry in the blooming. Only the steady, patient work of becoming.
What remains when the fire finally cools?
Hamidreza Zarini has captured this transition in the image titled Red Hot Pokers. The plant holds the light as if it were a secret. Does the earth feel the warmth of such a glow?


