Sleep evades me
sleep can’t save me
toss and turns me
makes me taut
choices made
outcomes shade
any happiness I’ve saught
life has a way
on too many days
of kicking me to the ground
ever impatient
tired of waiting
for all i think I’ve earned
not seeing clearly
what to hold most dearly
is the life already found
but here’s the thing
what nightime brings
is darkness full of doubts
did my impatience
invite trepidation
which attends me all night long
sleep evades me
sleep won’t save me
from this recurring haunt
that my willful, skillful selfness
forces herculean lessons
yet leaves me lonely, feeling helpless
for this false and mean obsession
needing things a certain way
will beat me up day after day
and tear my tender heart in two
keeping me further from the truth
but i keep trying
no more lying
that I’m understanding all
one year older
no more closer
to making the unfettered call
second-guessing
always messing
with the good of status quo
ever searching
ever lurching
toward the things I do not know
sleep evades me
sleep won’t save me
from the choices that I make
so I’ll write it
best not to fight it
take the give
and give the take
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 