the glow of grim

the pallid grey glow

makes everyone look sickly

rickety

empty and unnatural

i feel peevish

when it shines on me

and turns my mood irascible

un-affable

as i walk down the streets

whether here

or whether there

i can see its ugly pallor

be a glow too many share

its glare from within

what a sin

to shine upon so many

to light

but then oppress

an artificial beacon

beaming down on all inside

i’d rather hide

within the darkness

most sincere

naught but real

than to feel the ugly glow

fluorescent light

upon my brain

upon my skin

sadness surely made this light

illuminating

grim

luminous

efficient

yet poison for the soul

for the whole

for one’s peace of mind

i long to see fluorescent lights

forever dim

and let the world

glow warm again

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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.