
A resident of Connecticut and a lover of all things…
Astounded by the wild plenty
of pink and purple splendor
pushing past soil, fragrant
arabesques rise up in intemperate
profusion and obliterate air,
emitting from eerily pursed
lips an enduring elixir I could
not prepare for like the intoxicating
flood of sweetness that some-
times comes from an aging grief,
slowly overwhelming the heart
and senses, leaving behind
the last earthly vestiges of some
unbidden grace or absolution.

A resident of Connecticut and a lover of all things chocolate, John Muro has authored two volumes of poems — In the Lilac Hour and Pastoral Suite — in 2020 and 2022, respectively. A third volume — A Bountiful Silence & Other Poems — will be published this year. Since the publication of his first book, John has been thrice nominated for the Pushcart Prize, twice nominated for the Best of the Net and, in 2023, he received a Grantchester Award. His work has appeared in such literary journals as Acumen, Delmarva, Grey Sparrow, Hyacinth Review, Moria, River Heron, Sky Island and the Valparaiso Review.