Bittersweet Season
Colors have faded
from red maple leaves
and bronze chrysanthemums.
Even mornings pale.
We drive down country roads
silent of birdsong,
streams dried to ditches,
barns shambled in fields,
sit in narrow living rooms,
ashes cold in fireplaces,
dress in drab flannel shirts,
steep tea, let it grow cold,
nibble dry toast,
burn candle stubs.
Our lives turn brittle.
Foreheads ache
against moonless nights.
On a last walk before winter
we button our coats
against November
find a tangle of bittersweet still alive.
Voices: Lost and Found
by Jan Duncan-O’Neal
Table of Contents
Mother’s Voice
The Uncles
Neighborhood Crone
Demise
Hold Me, Pa
Dancing with Bob
Transplant
First Love
Dyslexic
Requiem for a Prodigal Daughter
The Great Sphinx
Lament for a Bookstore
Second Chance
Honeymoons
Introspection
New Enlightenment
Pushcart Nominations
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The Lives You Touch Publications
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