Aging Female Poet Attends Writing Retreat
After Margaret Atwood’s Aging Female Poet Sits on the Balcony
……
The late autumn trees lose their last leaves fast
to the strong gusts of wind this first writing day.
They fly like little yellow birds from the branches
off the mountain to another land for forgotten things.
The aging female poet gazes out the window at the
landscape and writes her last poems, perhaps, as
light blue hills hold the distance down, and the sun sets.
While her blood flows quick she will sing of
trees and birds, and as she ages what will she dream of?
When her sight fades with the afternoon light
will she write from memory or fear?
Crisp apples will trigger her best poems,
and she will hear what she can
of the gales and the spirits of the night.
Her childhood haunts will flicker past, and the deep
scent of pine trees will linger.
This poem first appeared in Sinister Wisdom 117, and can be found in the chapbook Sweet Blisters by Phyllis St George (Finishing Line Press) at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/sweet-blisters-by-phyllis-st-george/
Phyllis St. George is a poet, writer, and filmmaker living in Western Massachusetts. Her short story, “View from the Watchtower,” is featured in Anthology 5 of Running Wild Press. Her poetry has appeared in the Hiram Poetry Review and Sinister Wisdom. Her villanelle, “Last-Minute Temptation,” won 3rd Place in the 2019 Palm Beach Poetry Festival Tech Effect Poetry Contest. She produced and directed two short films, Plasticsand The Therapy Killings, accepted at the Downtown Boca Festival and the Outside the Box Bakersfield Film Festival, respectively. Her short film Plastics won an Award of Merit for her leading actor in the March 2011 Best Shorts Competition. Her digital artwork “Monsters in the Deep” is found in the Bonemilk Collective Vol II by Gutslut Press. She enjoys playing pickle ball and taking walks. In her former life, she worked as a computer programmer for a financial services company. Sweet Blisters is her first poetry collection.
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