Día de un Muerto

 ...

Between Zacatecas and Torreón, the train came to a stop in the middle of nowhere for hours. Rumors of an accident were circulating. Reportedly, a man had been killed when trying to jump onto the train. I walked five cars down to the spot where a crowd had gathered. I couldn’t see what had piqued their curiosity, but a few police officers in the center of the crowd were making emphatic gestures. There were also three dark-skinned figures standing there – two small and slender, one stooped and veiled.

“Kneel, señor, you must kneel!,” the veiled woman said.

“Why is she saying that, André?,” said Nicole, standing next to me.

“I don’t know. I’m just thinking: am I evil, or is she?”

“Why turn this into a question of good and evil? Let’s just assume that you’re perfectly ordinary, and she’s a bit demonic.”

“If you say so, my beauty.”

– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2026)

Posted for Friday Writings #251: Halloween and Día de Muertos. This is actually an excerpt from a story originally written in the 1980s and published in German translation in 2005. I remembered it when I read today’s writing prompt because it plays in Mexico and includes several seemingly random encounters with the veiled lady that culminate in the fatal accident described in this ending part of the story.

Stuttgart Beer Festival / Wordless Wednesday

At the Cannstatter Wasen in October for the world's second largest beer festival in Stuttgart a few years ago. Posted for Wordless Wednesday.

Laundry Day | Taken on Tuesday

Hung up this morning. Today's autumn sunshine promises to dry it fast.

I explained to you exactly

why I love you.

A mushroom was growing out of your nose.

Because of the mushroom, you couldn't speak.

But you explained to me nonetheless that I hadn’t understood a thing.

Which I realized!

Where your eyes must have been, behind the ever-growing mushroom, sprigs of parsley were sprouting.

Your mouth dropped like a potato, still mouthing something as it was falling down.

Startled, I stepped back before your mushroom head could touch me or the parsley could tickle me.

– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2026)

Posted in response to Friday Writings #250: Memories and Dreams, this is actually the translation of a surreal dream I’d originally written down in German. The painting above by Giuseppe Arcimboldo (1526-1593) would seem a good match for this vegetable-centric dream.

Love, one-sided

Here’s that black thing

attacking my nose from

the air, trying to sit down

on my arm, hand, foot,

thigh, my food – particularly

my food

Loves me so much

it can’t and won’t 

leave me alone

And here I am with

nothing but murder

in my mind

But way too slow

for execution

– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2026)

Note
Once again nothing but the prosaic truth turned into poetry. This one-sided love story has been going on for four days now. Ever since this specimen flew in through an open door and simply refuses to leave.

Wordless Wednesday | Public Art

Double exposure photograph of street art found on the wall of a market in Rome. Redmi 14 with Vignette for Android.

Posted for Wordless Wednesday. 

Ghost Rider / Taken on Tuesday

If you take a good look inside the car, you can see that a ghost is riding along.

Photo taken today, on Tuesday, and the beginning of what will hopefully become a series of Tuesday photos.

Scherzo 176

Scherzo 176

One of a large series of paintings, mostly executed in gouache on paper, that are inspired by the idea of the musical scherzo – light-hearted pieces with a lively movement. This one is available as a digital collectible.

Angelic Messages

Today’s task from Friday Writings #249: Message from an Angel

Not getting any instant inspiration, I thought about this for some time and remembered that we used to play angel cards in the family circle – typically on New Year’s Eve. But what happened to that deck of angel cards? They had to be somewhere. 

Being reluctant to go on a hunt that might take hours, I remembered that there usually are digital solutions to everything nowadays and searched the Internet, where a bunch of offers for free angel card readings can be found, most of which turn out not to be so totally free after all. Commerce, commerce!

Eventually I came upon a site that offered a gratis first card reading, and I made use of that to draw 3 cards.

1. Shine your inner light (supposedly from the Archangel Uriel)

2. Relax (from, lo and behold, the Angel of Relaxation)

3. Enter into the void (again from Uriel)

All right, I will follow the advice of all three. 

The relaxation should the easiest. Takes no effort apart from sitting back, letting go of that pencil (or the keys under my fingers), simply taking it easy. In a bit!

Shining my light – I’ll do my best. Right here, for example. But I’ll venture out in some time, which will include spreading the light I have to offer. Spreading light in these ages marked by a lot of dark seems like a good idea. 

But then the other challenge from Uriel ... how do I enter into the void? I’ll try, carefully, one cautious step into emptiness at a time.

– Leonard Blumfeld (© 2026) 

(Headed by a song by Heather Nova somewhat related to the topic.)

Wordless Wednesday - By the Side of the Street

Long shot - Olympus E-620 with Zuiko Digital 70-300 mm. Posted for Wordless Wednesday.