I am greeted by a cool morning’s energy

carried in the brisk air breaking on my back.

Refreshed, I approach the towering sanctum.

Its spire rends the sky, providing a lofty perch

for a lone gargoyle.

When you promised to make my brain sing color,

I jumped at the chance.

You were a painter of vibrancies,

inking trails to collect on debts for every

sunset stolen from your palette.

Dimming day’s sunset

Metal birds take off ... descend

Head on his shoulder

Bathed in golden rays

Frigid, Icy Nights

Chatting Faces of six continents, in the highline of the 7 line

Crowded, moving rivers along the conduits of the underground

Running, yelling, begging faces

Rolex, Suits, Prada, Nike

Miles wind the mechanics of my feet,

counters and clocks to tally the movement of my toes.

I pace alongside psychiatrists and counselors on cracked cement

as their words like a foreign language

Look outside the window,

The pine tree with a million needles,

Needles that glisten at their tips,

With a million beads of raindrops,

Editor's note: Point Cabrillo Lighthouse is Hardik Kothare's second place winning entry into the Synapse Storytelling Contest, photography category.

The fog rolls in an out

The tides ebb and flow

Insectum is the second place winner in the Synapse Storytelling Contest's creative writing category. Comments from Synapse editor in chief and category judge Ariane Panzer: This poem had a consistent and very original theme.

Do you have a secret talent — a skill you’ve been dying to show off, but wouldn’t necessarily quit your day job for? Now is your chance to flaunt those peacock feathers.

The San Francisco Opera recently added their voice to the many speaking out against the prejudice and bigotry rife within our country.