Midnight Daydreams

Dominique Renda and Blake Horsley's Midnight Daydreams invites the reader on a journey through breathtaking and heartfelt landscapes of lives both recognizable and unforeseen. The authors' candid poetic portraits offer compelling characters and represent a deep slice of life of crystallizing moments realizations and dreams lost and found.Witty heartbreaking and inspiring these poems affirm our humanity and rouse our spirit. Tales of a mother's feelings for her children undying and impossible to suppress a son's independent voice a spry woman's inquisitive perspective on time an exhausted man's effort to reclaim it veterans of war and adjustments explorations of values and redemption and the insight and passion of a creative life. Dominique Renda and Blake Horsley engage the reader in a conscious exploration of characters and poetic stories that bring us home.Excerpt from Seated in Midnight Daydreams by Dominique Renda:...'This is it' you say to meand the rustic room falls awayand the sounds cease to carrythe patrons change to shadowsand the light shines on truththe aged wood walls listenwhile sweet molasses steam pulls back inand I am old old in a momentframed in time and stuck to the leather benchmarking the day I sat down to say goodbyeto you.And in quiet mind I wonder.How does time trade passionfor passage and the journeyfor a mere view?The heavy doors opena couple enters to place their ordera family exits with a bag of what's left.'History creates expectation'you say to me your voluntary motheroffering involuntary farewell'and expectation makes it so.'Editorial ReviewsReviewTransportive poetry. A moving collection. Truth and wonder artistically expressed in each character's authentic voice.-Neal Menschel Poet PhotojournalistA certain shared perspective...each poem revealing both something about the subject as an individual and often as a part of a family unique yet related.-Stephanie Newsom Poet Composer TherapistAbout the AuthorsAs poet author and fine art photographer Dominique Renda's distinctive written and visual images capture the purity and presence of the human condition. A graduate of the University of California Los Angeles and CTI international Leadership Program Dominique has written creatively and professionally for more than two decades. As a photographer Dominique has been a featured artist exhibited in San Francisco Silicon Valley and Los Angeles. Midnight Daydreams is her third published book of poetry. A young poet and filmmaker this collection represents Blake Horsley's first published poetry. A lifelong collector of stories in all genres Blake explores the intersection of truth in art. As a student an observer and raconteur Blake creates narratives to provoke consideration and promote understanding.