Mary Oliver, “Aunt Elsie’s Night Music” the refrigerator gone the stove gone her pots and pans gone along with the oven even the dish towels even the aprons and their rack even her toaster even the mixer even the cupboards and counters even the faucet and sink even the mingling of good and bad odors under the sink even the mice even the roaches the stool gone the rugs gone replaced by a broken plate and a floury spill on the floor even the window and the birdfeeder that hung just outside even her birdbath even the birds even the about-to-bloom azaleas even her rows of romaine just coming up in the garden even the dogwoods at the edge of the lot even the maples sprouting their leaves even the squirrels
William Aarnes has had recent work in Main Street Rag, NewVerseNews, and The Write Launch. He has published two collections with Ninety-Six Press—Learning to Dance (1991) and Predicaments (2001)—and a third collection, Do in Dour, from Aldrich Press (2016).
Change Seven Magazine 