William Miller

William Miller’s poems have recently been published or accepted by The Literary Nest, Literary Orphans, Louisana Literature and Clementine Unbound.  His eighth full-length collection of poetry, The Crow Flew Between Us, is forthcoming from Aldrich Books in spring, 2019.

Burning Leaves

Before leaf blowers,
plastic bags, garbage trucks,
we raked them as a family.

And we burned them
in an iron drum until dusk,
a weak, failing sun.

There was nothing left
but winter, ashes
that rose and fell

on patches of brown grass.
We went inside,
ate cold biscuits,

greens and fat back,
listened to a small
wooden radio…

Nothing has been lost
except the four of us
in a circle around

quick, orange flames–
the sweet smoke
of an autumn fire.

© 2018 William Miller