"Sunday Morning Coming Down"

Low clouds hug Nashville.

Block after block of bars, neon signs dim

at 9 a.m. Band flyers blanket Broadway,

crumpled next to ads for the Ryman.

Crushed cups and cigarette butts

where last night hips swiveled

and boots tapped counterpoint to drums.

The only rhythm now the swish-

swoosh of a broom as it clears

yesterday’s dreams from the stage,

makes space for today’s band to load in.

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).