my reflection is a liar
it conspires
with my years
it tortures like an enemy
for what i see
brings tears
the sagging skin
the lips so thin
the lines around my eyes
the greying hair
the glow not there
does not reflect inside
for if it did you’d see me there
more beautiful than ever
more confident
much more content
and really rather clever
but the mirror likes to taunt me
likes to haunt me
with this figure
growing wider
cannot hide her
menopause the ugly trigger
yet I wouldn’t trade a single thing
and wish the clock reversed
i do not long for days of youth
for that would be perverse
each year has made me stronger
made me bolder
made me me
I would not give a wrinkle back
unsettling as it seems
my reflection is an honest friend
whose truth is often heavy
yet this weight i can bear
for the me right here
when not my own worst enemy
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.
View all posts by Anne Celano Frohna