My bedroom is at the end of the second floor hallway.
Right above the living room
and Mom and Dad’s bedroom.
I hear fights my siblings don’t –
or at least don’t tell me.
A hard thing to bring to a game of H-O-R-S-E.
On the nights there are fights,
I never feel more alone in this full house.
Sinking through the empty blackness of my room.
Drowning in the fury
and the screaming
and my pillow.
Desperate for it to stop,
or for me to find the courage to make him stop.
Picturing the nearest item
that will offer the hardest blow.
A cane from the stand,
just down the stairs,
and through the door below.
… If I hear it once more…
But I never find the courage,
just anger and confusion,
and early recognition
of a marriage that malfunctions.
Making monsters in the madness
and words into weapons.
And me into a quivering mess
under my blankets
in the dark of my room.
Praying for it to stop,
or me to sleep.
Author: Anne Celano Frohna
I have been writing for as long as I could hold a pencil in hand and would not feel complete without it.
And I actually made a meager living at it (and as an editor) for 25 years.
I worked for newspapers and magazines, in graphic arts and advertising, and wrote several local history books.
But I have also taught English in Japan, been a Nanny/family chef in Italy, worked in and for museums, was an Airbnb Superhost for four years, as well as an Etsy shop owner, where I sold vintage items I found over the years at thrift stores and yard sales.
After moving to Arizona with my family in 2010, I completed a series of different writing projects, including two books of creative non-fiction:
Just West of the Midwest: a comedy (Based on journals I kept during my two years as an English teacher in rural Japan.)
Within Close Range: short stories of an American Childhood (Short stories and poems about growing up as the middle of five children in suburban Chicago.)
But in the past few years, I have found my voice in poetry.
I am a mother of two wonderful girls, Eva (26) and Sophia (24) and wife to one wonderful husband, Kurt.
In 2023, with our girls grown and off on their own, my husband and I packed up our things and moved to the tip of Italy’s heel, to the Salento region, where I continue to work on my poetry, as well as a new fiction project, and indulge in my passion for mosaics - all of which you can view on my Instagram page @ acfrohna.
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Dog-eared Stories by anne celano frohna 