AHM’s 9th Anniversary: “She Painted the Willows” by Ken Allan Dronsfield

Colors of the leaves in autumn wove a lovely quilt

covering the countryside, woods and waters.

Falling like winter snow from the tallest of trees

lighting the forest like a candelabra until the first snow.

She was there by the pond, painting the weeping willows,

she never spoke a word, just watched the trees and their

swaying branches in the late afternoon breeze, then

disappearing into the mist of a newborn twilight.

There was poetry soaring into the reddish skies

as she floated silently just above the grass.

Wavelets ran up the beach chasing little shorebirds

In a rhythmic crashing of the waves upon rocks;

like a tear as it slowly tracks upon the cheeks and

finds its way to the quivering lips.

Broken cobwebs capture pieces of dead leaves

turning pirouettes like a ballerina in the wind

while hanging there suspended in the tall trees.

Listening to the song of the valley’s brass bell

faithful in awe at a soft whispering magic in the moon.

Birds at the feeder bring a smile to one’s dull day

tired of sitting in the sun praying for a halcyon rain.

Hearing sister crying brushing knots out of her long hair,

I’m wondering about the girl painting the weeping willows;

will she return like a wisp of smoke upon a breeze, or

will she finally find peace and soar into the light;

leaving thoughts of a ghost girl during twilight behind.

Ken Allan Dronsfield is a disabled veteran and prize winning poet from New Hampshire, now residing in Oklahoma. He has seven poetry collections to date. Ken’s been nominated five times for the Pushcart Prize and seven times for Best of the Net. He was First Prize Winner for the 2018 and 2019, Realistic Poetry International Nature Poetry Contests. Ken loves his country, shooting at the range, writing, thunderstorms, music and spending time with his family and rescue cats Yumpy and Gynx.