Sterling Warner
Stately Elm
Dell held a wallet full of secrets
close to chest until his 85th year;
then, as solemn as an old elm tree
impervious to windy nights
or the scorching breath of summer,
he spread each enigmatic mystery
like stump sprouts amongst friends
and teased strangers to reconsider
life from a hardwood perspective
where logic and desire existed
in harmony assuring future prospects
never crossing his threshold
of immediate concerns taking
a foothold amid organized chaos,
branching out, dispersing chimerical food
for thought and personal growth.
Bio
An author, poet, educator, and Push Cart Nominee, Sterling Warner's works have appeared in such literary magazines, journals, and anthologies as The Fib Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, The Shotglass Review, Danse Macabre, Poetry Life & Times, and The Galway Review. Warner's volumes of poetry include Rags & Feathers, Without Wheels, Shadowcat, Edges, Memento Mori, Serpent's Tooth, Flytraps: Poems, and Cracks Of Light: Pandemic Poetry & Fiction 2019-2022, Halcyon Days: Collected Fibonacci as well as Masques: Flash Fiction & Short Stories. Abraxas: Poems debuts in 2024. Currently, Warner writes, turns wood, hosts "virtual" poetry readings, and enjoys retirement in Washington state.