fall-de-rol

John Schiano

autumn's impetuous glory
cascades over me,                                             
taunts my hair,                                       
feathers my cheek, floating
crisply swirls and twirls                                 sky     
around my feet,                                                      glorious
inciting me to revel,
    Celebrate! Jubilate!                                                     blazing
        i boot splendor                               the
          into the air,                                                                   grandeur

          Dance!                                                      swirling
                                                         as  
        Fly!                                                                           gleefully

       scoop                                  high twirling
      both hands
        and fling                            frolicking
              ferocious               as  
                        brilliance                                                    Laughing!

With an indulgent smile,
my wife hands me my rake.

---

John Schiano
A former New Yorker and a disabled veteran, I received my Fine Arts degree from The Cooper Union. I've won several awards for my poetry and artwork including awards from the Poetic Genius Society, Shadow Poetry and the Winsor & Newton Award for Portraiture. My hybrid creation appeared in the September 2024 issue of Ink in Thirds, and I'm a "Featured Contributor" in their Vol. 6, i. 1, with publication of my artwork. I was published in Rising Phoenix Review in September 2024 and The Seraphic Review published my poem their March 2025 Issue. One of my calligrams appears in the February 2025 issue of #RANGER and they will publish another in their Issue 10. Currently I'm experimenting with new forms of visual poetry and hybrid art.