I will tell them
about the delectation,
the solar burst of my heart:
how twice it softly jolted me
out of the sleep-verge
like a glowing end-of-summer firecracker
sprung from the place
where my eagle’s talon had rested,
bent at waist,
eyes closed.
I will not tell them
about the two watchers
on the ski hill
that are conjured in sleep:
the ones that are taller than trees,
thrown black shadows and shapeless,
except for hunched shoulders,
singular and forever,
taking forty yards
in soundless stride.
Donna Kathryn Kelly is the author of the paranormal horror thriller, THE DESCENT: A Halloween Novel, which was a semi-finalist in the 2023 Soon to be Famous Illinois Author Manuscript Contest. She is also the author of THE CHENEY MANNING SERIES, a collection of suspense novels featuring a public defender turned amateur sleuth who investigates murder cases in northern Illinois. Kelly's poetry has appeared in literary journals and anthologies such as Bowery Gothic, Pasque Petals, Southern Arizona Press, Oakwood, Snapdragon, and North Dakota Quarterly. In 2022, she received an Honorable Mention in the 91st Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition (Non-Rhyming Poetry Category). You can learn more about Kelly and her writings @donnakathrynkelly.com.