corn, too long afield, rattles its dry leafy
bones, solitary
bird song, stark
against a backdrop of leaves
and grass melting,
crickets and cicadas
and all manner of buzzing
creatures muffle as they crawl
into winter’s stillness.
earth readies itself.
This poem first appeared in Artemis: Artists and Writers of the Blue Ridge Mountains and Beyond (2023).
—
Nan Ottenritter has published chapbooks Eleanor, Speak (Finishing Line Press) and My Year 2023. She co-edited Discovery, Recovery: A Journey with Veterans (2023) and has been published in Artemis, Still Points Quarterly, Poetry Society of Virginia Anthologies, Dissent: an anthology to end war and capitalism (2023), and Writing the Land: Virginia (NatureCulture LLC). After her career in higher education, she can be found writing, fiddling, and enjoying the vibrant writing community in Richmond, VA.
