Sunlight intrudes quietly, slipping past
the morning fog that hangs motionless,
the color of weathered parchment,
extending in silence across the shaved
lawns and clouding over the blood-
orange blemish of chrysanthemums
and porches girdled in vibrant strands
of bittersweet. Now, all things appear
as imprecise as memory, drifting between
sleeps, like the whimsical sail of a
solitary flicker or the lopsided scare-
crows attired in brittle stalks of corn,
feigning motion, leaning on lightless
lampposts as if they’re enduring some
inconsolable loss or listening to a sad
tune whistled from afar, before they
gather the thick assembly of leaves,
lacquered by fog, and then scatter
them in the nearer fields where,
sun-struck, they can settle in quiet
retreat, like the remains of this day,
and slowly marry with the soil.
About the Author
A resident of Connecticut and lover of all things chocolate, John Muro has authored two volumes of poems – In the Lilac Hour and Pastoral Suite – in 2020 and 2022, respectively. Both volumes were published by Antrim House and both are available on Amazon and elsewhere. Since the publication of his first book, John has been nominated three times for the Pushcart Prize, two times for the Best of the Net Award and, in 2023, he was a Grantchester Award recipient. His work has appeared in such literary journals as Acumen, Barnstorm, Connecticut River, Delmarva, River Heron, Sky Island and the Valparaiso Review.
About the Artist
Sean Reed is a student and photojournalist from Illinois. They got their start in photography as a teen, photographing diy punk shows in and around Chicago. Since then, they have held various roles producing and leading multimedia projects as a student journalist.
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