Today
an impassable puddle
veered us from our path
of happy, habitual loops
of frequent dog-walking tracks
taking us
toward unused streets
of unseen sights
and unknown treats
leading us down
one age-old trail
a forgotten world
awaiting
a history fading
where tilting quarry towers
whisper colossal tales
like sleeping, sculpted giants
who once built towns of stone
now long silenced
and overgrown
such novel sights
inspire us
to seek the zag
instead of zig
go right
instead of left
shrug off
the darkening clouds
and slow
our wandering steps
combing piled and crumbling walls
a horse and cart apart
round age-less, red-soiled fields
ever curious
ever hopeful
– for what treasures
might they yield?
with every pocket loaded
with fragments of some past
we turn toward home
toward well-walked trails
inclined
to let them pass
choosing once more
less rambled streets
with spirits
like our pockets
filled
until we’re home at last
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 