Hunting Season
Jan Chronister
An orange fist sticks out of a bureau drawer
catches my eye, a square of Mother’s black and many-colored
afghan we brought back from Florida last winter
along with quilts, costume jewelry and ceramics—
politely accepted, stored away in darkness, forgotten.
Glow of neon yarn on November morning
reminds me Ruby will never
crochet or stitch again
dress for church
paint another plate.
The hunter will find her asleep
dreaming of Pennsylvania hills,
a schoolgirl collecting leaves
ninety years before surrender.
Jan Chronister lives and writes in the woods near Maple, Wisconsin. Her chapbook Target Practice was published in 2009 by the University of Wisconsin. She is currently serving as president of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (WFOP).
Word Fountain 
Leave a Reply