At the vintage farm I bow into the smithy’s gray interior, hazy in the low light. The farrier’s rasp and snippers rest on the rough stone block by the firepot, long cooled. Still, I hold my hand over it, half expecting heat.
Pop’s wooden chisel
hangs on a peg
another notch
on the list of skills
I never grasped
is a retired speech pathologist and earned an MFA from Spalding University. Her fourth poetry collection, Imagine a Town, was published by Sheila-Na-Gig Editions in 2020. She writes both long form and short-form Japanese poetry, and conducts poetry workshops for local literary organizations. Her awards include an Individual Excellence Award from the Ohio Arts Council. Her work has appeared most recently in SWWIM, Modern Haiku, Mezzo Cammin, Evening Street Review, and The Copperfield Review, as well as in numerous anthologies.
When she’s not writing, Barbara hikes the Cuyahoga Valley Nation Park, down the road from her home in Akron, Ohio, and travels with her husband and wonder dogs in their vintage camper.
