A perfect sun-painted ache of a day, air seared by nuthatches and chickadees. In their final throes, leaves sing down as if they can outdo beauty. I grip the chair’s smooth arms to refrain from joining in— as if the season of my descent is a matter of choice.
Leisha Douglas's poems and short stories have appeared or are forthcoming in The Alembic, Big Muddy, Bridge Magazine, Corium Magazine, The Cortland Review, decomP, Euphony Journal, Five on the Fifth, Glint Literary Journal, Helix, The Midwest Review, Nonconformist Magazine, Poydras Review, Upstreet, and many other journals and magazines. A recent poem is anthologized in Corona City.
