Two poems

Boulder Colorado, June

Aubade

A doe and two fawns, still spotted,

amble into the back yard, browse

flower beds, pass over portulaca,

nibble new shoots. Rebuffed as it tries

to nurse, one fawn zips around the yard

in ever-widening circles, skids on the thick

carpet of pine needles.Sunlight stipples

bark on the 45 foot tall blue spruce.

Evensong

Unseen, a hummingbird trills, announces itself from the trees.

Finches claim the feeder,dart away when a blue jay squawks

as it scoops a peanut balanced on the edge of the patio. Squirrels

scamper up the pine, chide the cat stretched on a lounger.

Blackcapped chickadees peck at sunflower seeds, give thanks

with the call and response of their chick-a-dee-dee chorus.

Foothills of the Rockies fade as dusk blankets them.

Mama raccoon’s yellow eyes pierce the dark

while she leads five babies to the stream.

Mother Breaks Her Silence

Daybreak follows an overnight ice storm.

I creep along the curved on-ramp,

ease onto I-95. The asphalt sparkles

like a geode, although I can’t tell if it’s ice

or brine. I practice positive self-talk,

slow and steady, grip the steering wheel

with gloved fingers, praise myself

as I get closer to work. I whisper to my mother,

and after years of pleading, years

of not hearing her voice, she answers,

sturdy and clear as if she were riding shotgun.

Oh honey, I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.

Delaware native Nina Bennett is the author of The House of Yearning, Mix Tape, and Sound Effects (Broadkill Press Key Poetry Series). Her poetry has been nominated for the Best of the Net, and has appeared in publications that include South85, I-70 Review, Gargoyle, Yale Journal for Humanities in Medicine, Philadelphia Stories, and The Broadkill Review. Awards include 2014 Northern Liberties Review Poetry Prize, and second-place in poetry book category from the Delaware Press Association (2014). Nina is a founding member of the TransCanal Writers (Five Bridges, A Literary Anthology).