An overcast sky breaks up by mid-morning, its grey cloak torn into clumps of cumulus. The wind drives them fast until there’s nothing left but blue. By mid-afternoon, new masses arrive from the west. But the wind drives them, too, and at dark, the stars burn clear. So many days in one day, so many changes ... my own self blows away and comes back that many times over.

out of nowhere 
remembering the girl 
who used to cry 

at the bus stop 
every morning 

finally knowing why 

—Short-listed Finalist in MacQ’s Cheribun Challenge #2

Cynthia Anderson

A California resident for more than 40 years, Cynthia Anderson is the author of 13 poetry collections, most recently The Far Mountain (The Wise Owl Publications, 2024), Arrival (Sheila-Na-Gig Editions, 2023), and Full Circle (Cholla Needles Press, 2022). Her poems appear frequently in journals and anthologies, and her work has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net. Cynthia is co-editor of the anthology A Bird Black As the Sun: California Poets on Crows & Ravens (Green Poet Press).

Author’s website: www.cynthiaandersonpoet.com