Angelia Ross publishes debut poetry collection, “Shadows of the Heart”
Shadows of the Heart – an Appalachian life in poetry by Angelia Ross. Published 2/13/25. With original color photography by the author. Designed & edited by Cheyanne Leonardo.
February 13, 2025 – Today is the day! Local poet & author Angelia Ross publishes her debut poetry collection, Shadows of the Heart. Described as “an Appalachian life in poetry,” this book has been a work in progress for nearly 35 years, beginning with the title poem written back in 1990, when Angelia graduated from McCreary Central High School. Since then, Angelia has continued to write autobiographical poetry about her life & family, as well as the natural beauty and history of the Big South Fork area. Keep reading to learn more about the brand-new book, enjoy a small selection of the author’s favorite poems, and find out how & where to purchase a copy of your own!
About the Poet
Angelia Ross began journaling, writing science fiction and fantasy stories in her early teens. But after graduating high school, she also began writing poetry, which has been featured in many different publications. However, the poems she is most proud of are featured in the 2023 Appalachian anthology Hometown Poems, poems for which she won Poet of the Year. Angelia lives in Oneida, TN where she gets her inspiration from nearly everything, including her menagerie of pets.
–Foreword–
Angelia Ross is a poet with a keen eye for life –
She is a curious observer, courageous explorer, honest historian, and skilled storyteller. She notices the finest details – the mysterious inner-workings and puzzling complexities few dare to entertain. She – seemingly effortlessly – pulls the profound out of simplicity. She calmly states what she sees before her eyes – in the garden, in the forest, among the animals, on the road – and reminds us of the magic in the mundane, positioning us within the web of infinite overlap between other beings and ourselves. Angelia’s poems exist in conversation with the soul of the world – seeking empathy and connection with all God’s creatures big and small, pursuing a state of wonder and continual discovery, all while maintaining a steadfast commitment to telling the truth.
Angelia’s reality is made of poetry, intensely alive in every nook, cranny, and corner. She can revisit a single moment in time – a minute of memory – and create a scene so near and real, the past eclipses the present in a matter of seconds. Her tender and thoughtful treatment of every flower, bug, bird, and beast she encounters suggests the world itself sings with gratitude at her approach, for the pleasure of being seen through her kind and compassionate eyes.
Shadows of the Heart acknowledges both the beauty and torment one experiences when walking through the world with an open mind, perceptive nature, and insightful intuition. The author ignores nothing – neither bat nor butterfly, leaf nor lug nut. She feels the pain and purpose pulsating through the fabric of the animate everything. And she renders it all in poetry that reads like a breath of relief – that – finally –
you are held
you are seen
you are heard
you are here
you are believed.
–Cheyanne Leonardo
Poems from
Shadows of the Heart
an Appalachian life in poetry
by Angelia Ross
INTO A DREAM
Trees are budding
After a long rest,
And birds are gathering
Materials for their nest.
Butterflies float along
On a cool breeze,
And pollen tickles noses
Until they sneeze.
Fish jump so high
They nearly touch the sky,
And the bubbling of a stream
Lulls one into a dream
Until chiggers invade the britches –
Oh, how it itches, itches, itches.
⚘
FIELD OF DAISIES
The field is a sea of
My favorite white daisies,
And for a moment I just stand,
Taking in the amazing sight.
Then I look at you and it’s almost
As if I can read your mind.
Lifting my dress tail above my ankles,
We race across the field
Until we are breathless,
Then I close my eyes and raise
My face to the noon-day sun,
And twirl until I’m dizzy.
When my head finally stops spinning,
I look over at you to find a little
Lopsided grin on your lips
And your face so tender with love
That my heart skips a few beats,
Then you pull me close
And kiss me so gently
The world fades away.
But only for a few moments.
Taking each other’s hand
We fall to the ground,
Lay on our backs and name
The clouds as they roll by.
“Oh, there’s a dragon, a heart,
And a spaceship,” you say to me.
And this is my return,
“I see a flower, a duck and
There’s a little dog to our left.”
And we laugh because it is
A funny-looking little dog.
Suddenly tired from the racing,
Twirling, cloud-naming and such
We continue to lay amongst
Those lovely white daisies,
Watching them bob and sway
While we listen to honey
And bumble bees buzz all around us.
Then when the sun begins to paint
The sky in brilliant shades
Of red and orange,
We get to our feet and slowly
Begin walking towards home.
Upon reaching the front porch,
I turn for one more look
At the field of white daisies.
I breathe deeply,
Inhaling their sweet fragrance,
And sigh contently.
After a moment you offer me your arm,
“Shall we go, my lady?”
You ask so softly.
I slip my hand onto your elbow.
“Yes, my love,” I reply.
⚘
ME, PAP, AND OUR JOKE
Sunlight filters through the trees
As their leaves dance in a breeze.
Placing our seemingly unopened
Hershey bar wrappers on
A big sand rock,
Pap and I laugh at our joke,
Then down the old logging road we go;
Talking about log cabins, bobcats,
Wiggle tails and stagnated mud puddles,
Around which I have to guide him.
On and on we go until we reach the creek.
Pap sits down on a log
And I eagerly peer into
The clear, whispering water
In hopes of finding crawdads.
But those hopes are soon dashed,
For not a one do I see.
Pap thinks they found out we were coming
And scurried down the stream.
Can’t say I blame them.
With that mission down the drain,
I turn my attention to the
Mysterious meadow across the way
And wish with all my might
That Pap will say we can explore it.
But for the thousandth time
His answer is no.
Disappointment fills me.
Then I sigh and think,
Oh well, maybe next time.
With evening nigh at hand,
Up the old logging road we go;
Talking about birds, squirrels, trees,
And stagnated mud puddles,
Around which I have to guide Pap.
Then on and on we go
Until we come to the big sand rock.
I tell Pap our Hershey bar wrappers
Are still there,
And we laugh once more at our joke.
⚘
THE BAT
One night he came down from the attic
To examine my room,
And without hesitation I laid
Him on the floor with a broom.
Unable to bear neither his wiggling
Nor his cries of pain,
I tried to free him from
His agonizing strain.
But my deed did not
Become a part of the past
For I found him crawling
Amongst the morning glories fast.
And as I looked at him in the daylight,
I saw that he was no longer
The horrifying creature of last night,
But a small being who awed me
With his strength and beauty
As well as his sense of duty.
And with this knowledge,
Came a compassion that fueled
My desire to help him.
But my help came too late
Because I had already sealed his fate,
For upon my return I found
Him lying expired
In the warm September sun.
I wept for him tears a ton,
But my tears were in vain
Because I could not return to him
What had been taken away.
However, this I must say,
His death shall never be in vain,
No matter the strength of my pain.
And when I hear the cries of his kind,
The memory of him flashes
Through my mind,
Punishing my soul with guilt and shame,
Until my heart is burnt by the flame.
⚘
WAITING FOR SLEEP
Up and down.
Up and down.
Sleep must have went on vacation
And forgot to take me with him.
Up and down.
Up and down.
Get a drink.
Peep out the window.
Open the door.
Look up at the starry sky.
Listen to the night bird’s cry.
Here sleep, sleep, sleep.
Oh man, it’s 4 a.m.
And not a wink of sleep have I had.
If he doesn’t come soon
I think I’ll go mad.
Twilight is on the horizon.
Sleep finally arrives
And I thankfully close my eyes.
Ding-a-ling, ling, ling. Snap!
Crash!
Zzzzz.
𖤣.𖥧.𖡼.⚘
Where to Purchase
A book launch & signing party is currently scheduled for March 15 at the Scott County Office Building in Huntsville, TN. Make plans now to stop in from 2-5pm to purchase a signed copy of “Shadows of the Heart,” meet & greet the author, and enjoy complimentary refreshments.
Further details about the event will be announced on our Instagram page @dandelionscribes and to our email subscribers. The book will also be available in our Dandelion Scribes poetry shop within the coming days.
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With endless love & gratitude,
