star shower
Photo © Liz Thompson
After cotton-soft fog,
I am drunk
on oak bokeh
and the brittle leaf rattle
of December. Here,
the quiet work
of a winter aster,
its bone-white petals
worn like a crown
until wispy seeds
fall away
in a tiny star shower.
Mary Katherine Creel lives in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, where she has worked as a journalist and counselor to children and families. A Pushcart Prize nominee, she is the author of several poetry collections, including her most recent book, Every Note, a Lantern. She also writes the Substack publication, a small spectacle, featuring nature-inspired poems and short essays about finding gratitude, healing, and connection.