Death rapped on our window at dawn
so I leapt from bed and out the door
to shoo it away.
But there, below the window,
in the morning shade of the Mulberry tree
a Western Kingbird lay.
Damn it, I cried aloud to death,
I’ve tried to keep you at bay.
How many window decals do I need
to keep them all away?
You silly thing, I said to the bird,
and scooped to pick her up.
Stunned and afraid
she fluttered her wings,
flipping helplessly in the dust.
With soothing words, i tried again.
cupping hands around my little friend.
Who showed little life.
Who looked near the end.
But I was not interested in welcoming death,
so finding a box and trying my best,
I set the bird down in a soft, cotton nest.
A gentle stroke upon her head
and down her narrow bill.
Her wide, black eyes, now closed.
Her gray and yellow feathers, still.
Death, I see, is stopping by.
So I leave the Kingbird,
– and this mourning scene –
to have a good, long cry.
For the bird,
For the world.
For me.
For death hovers over this house.
It simply can’t be helped
with a 90 year old mother about.
Although uninvited, it came for a visit.
Not much to be done
except to face it.
I returned to the box
with the poor, little bird.
And, once again, I cursed aloud.
Reaching down for one final stroke,
suddenly the Kingbird woke,
and flew in a flash
to a neighboring tree,
leaving me
and death
behind today.
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 
I loved it and it was intresting imfact amazing
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Sending lots of love to your Mom, and hope she remembers the fun we had at Knollwood, and especially in England during the Ryder Cup, Lord knows how many years ago…
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