I dream of flying.
Lifting off the edge of the bluff
and rising quickly
toward the fat, lazy clouds
hovering over the great, grey lake.
Circling the nearby harbor
where scattered sailboats bob,
I swoop and dive
like the swallows nearby,
but seek out more familiar forms
hidden back among the trees,
just far enough
from the crumbling bluff
to put Dad’s mind at ease.
To the glowing kitchen window
and the figure of Mom
in her pink, plaid apron.
Ever regal.
Ever busy
in her blue and yellow kitchen.
I hover there,
in the cool lake air,
listening to the happy clinks and clanks
of pots and plates.
And try to imagine what’s cooking
by what’s wafting through the windows.
Until a strong breeze
lifts the aroma
and me
back over the lake.
Past the sunken, old pier
where giant carp spawn
year after year.
Past the rocky harbor walls
standing hard against the waves.
Until the house
and the cottage
and the beach
disappear,
and I begin to really soar
over endless stretches
of dark and deep.
Unhappy to find my bed
and solid ground beneath me
when I wake.
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 