August 2022
Dennis Finnell
dfinnell99@gmail.com
Bio Note: I'm originally from St. Louis, have lived in several states, and at last count—which is probably pretty final—I've had "about" thirty-three jobs, from slinging something at Burger King to teaching at Mount Holyoke College. I've published six books, my first Red Cottage winning The Juniper Prize. My most recent book, 2021, is Selected Poems from FutureCycle Press.

In CVS's lot

a stranger aims her cell up

in a 45

degree angle and 

as I near her it's obvious 

in her silhouette

she's smiling at what 

she pictures and as I walk near 

she declares through her 

blue paper mask,

Those birds up there, all those birds 

singing!  Yes, I think, 

they're starlings but not 

quite yet a “murmuration.”

The winged chorus sings

the sun going down 

over some steeple-less house

of worship ending

day’s light between winter’s birth 

and an anonymous new year.
©2022 Dennis Finnell
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