Contributor: Anne Fall

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The belief that distance can be finite carries
her over the bridge
between fear and hope.
The middle sways under her,
and the ecstasy of extremes
offers the only certain ground.

There's a cracking of grey branches
that comes with the frost white bite
of January.

Black and white days—
sometimes colored in with pale greys.

Wintering over geraniums
with their pale green gingko leaves─
they have not died, and neither has she,
but the blooms are gone,
and every part of her longs
for red.


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Anne Fall is the author of Rosa Scriptum and has been featured by Fallon Publications and Virginia Poets. Living and writing in the Shenandoah Valley, Anne Fall is a rosarian, poet, and novelist.