"Duende is that place in us where the two halves of our life are conjoined. It is the place where we go down into the self and gather up that opposing force to our immediate nature. It involves the undoing of the 'pretending-everything-is-okay-mechanism' in us and it is an overall waking up to the forces of conflict in life and actually mustering a strength to make abiding choices. Many throughout time have likened this awaking process to dreams and forgetfulness and because of that it seeks to reveal itself in shadows and reflections." These are poems and images that evoke and provoke a sense of DUENDE.

N. Thomas Johnson-Medland is the CEO of Lighthouse Hospice, Inc., of Cherry Hill, New Jersey. He is the author ofBridges, Paths, and Waters; Dirt, Sky, and Mountains, Cairn-Space, Entering the Stream, Along the Road, From the Belly of the Whale, Dance Macabre, Windows and Doors, andTurning Within.

Bob Cook is a photographer living in Mount Pocono, PA (www.cookfamilyphotography.net).