canopies by William Aarnes

She enjoyed nights in B and Bs
but tried to avoid beds
with canopies. As a child
she’d been frightened by 13 Ghosts,
the canopy creeping down
to smother its victim.

                                   One expense
of her daughter’s outdoor wedding
was the 40-by-60 canopy.

Then came that rainy day
Draymore and Sons provided one
over her husband’s grave.

She values the canopy
of the branches shading her house
but the oaks have started dropping limbs
so she’s hired Arbor Care
to dismantle them.

Now the August sun will bear down.



William Aarnes has published two collections with Ninety-Six Press—Learning to Dance (1991) and Predicaments (2001)—and a third collection, Do in Dour, from Aldrich Press (2016). His work has appeared in such magazines as Poetry, FIELD, and Red Savina Review.