A lover of poetry and a longtime member of the Poetry Society of Vermont (PSOV), Sally Reisner passed away on August 13, 2025. Over the years Sally contributed much to our organization, attending workshops, submitting her writing to The Troubadour, and participating in poetry readings.
But Sally’s commitment to the PSOV went deeper. An active and enthusiastic volunteer, she also served as Membership Chair of the PSOV for over ten years. During that time, members of the Executive Council learned to rely on her meticulously kept records, records that she shared quarterly so Council members would have up-to-date information when they made decisions.
Then in 2001 her love of poetry led her to join eight other poets, all members of the PSOV, to form The Mad River Poets. Working together this group published Pebbles from the Stream, a collection of their poems, in 2002. Again, Sally’s contribution was significant. Not only did she handle the finances of this publication, but she also thought of the title, describing poems as “pebbles” that “ripple in the stream of life.”
Sally’s optimism, love of people, and vivacity were like those ripples, reaching all around her.
A Celebration of Life will be held from 3 to 5p.m., Saturday, September 27, at Mad River Exchange, 6163 Main Street, Waitsfield, Vermont.
Sally’s family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Poetry Society of Vermont, https://poetrysocietyofvermont.org/product/donation-1/
Mother’s Day
Hanging laundry on the line,
tasting the wind on my face,
I look upward at the greening trees.
The shirts and shorts form a parenthesis
with my stretching body
as I connect each wooden clothespin.
How can I feel so content
on Mother’s Day
With my sons so far away?
Then the phone rings.
Happy Mother’s Day, Mom. I love you.
I love you too, sweetheart.
The miles vanish.
Later, with the turkey in the oven
And the laundry folded, the phone rings again.
. . . I love you, too, son. I’m proud of you both.
We’re proud of you, Mom.
My two sons,
both sides of the parentheses,
with me in the middle.
We’re connected
no matter how far apart.
~ Sally Anne Reisner
On My Terms
You asked me to leave the bedroom,
but I wasn’t ready.
I needed to prepare my space;
this was to be a step up, not out,
and it would be on my terms, not yours.
For twenty-four years we shared
that double bed,
that room with the slanted floor
and peeling wallpaper,
breakfast in bed looking through
diamond panes of leaded glass
at the changing colors
and falling leaves; it was
like living in a tree house.
I’ve redecorated the spare room with all that
I want: an antique desk and family
heirlooms. The new box spring and mattress
is covered with a patchwork quilt.
It’s my room now.
As I lie in bed I feel
A renewed sense of solitude, of peace.
I cuddle under the ceiling stars,
remnants of our son’s years in this room,
and look forward to a new day.
No more empty spaces,
echoes of silence
or antagonizing gloom.
No more false hopes.
No more lies.
I am ready.
~ Sally Anne Reisner
post written by friends & poets; Susan Bauchner, Kris Korman and Carol Milkuhn
photo of Anne from The Valley Reporter: Sally Anne Reisner