rusty and neglected
among the thorns
and tall, wild grass
stands the marker of a man
long since passed
a sorrowful reminder
of all life that comes and goes
of the life some might remember
and soon no one will know
no one to tend the marker
none to remember the man
no one to even notice
the monument at hand
I pass it nearly everyday
and wonder who he was
to warrant such an epitaph
to earn such a tribute of love
and then to be forgotten
at a corner where no one stops
in front of an ugly chain link fence
midst trash and weeds and rocks
decomposing a little more each day
like a body in a grave
none to recall the forgotten man
was he good
was he loving
was he brave
what would he think
of his sad, unkempt shrine
and what would I say
if this pillar was mine
such things are for the living
such things not meant to stand
such tokens of such fleeting days
won’t remember the forgotten man
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 