Martha Silano
Bumblebees Are Made of Ash
The day is a dragonfly hovering in the Timothy. It could rain for months
before the sun goes down. An orange buoy bobs while a sparrow
sings through a wall. The world smells of cedar, skunk spray,
a sedge’s sharp edge. The cat’s ears clear their throats,
prepare to speak. Kinnell called it “the inexhaustible
freshness of the sea.” As if you could imitate
a preening cormorant. As if she’d said can’t
lean this way, but you heard can’t live,
destiny’s dangling web. A horse
82 miles from its barn while
your brain swings open
like a giant pink
gate.
Martha Silano’s books include Reckless Lovely, The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception, and What the Truth Tastes Like. A forthcoming collection, Mission Boulevard, will appear from Saturnalia Books in early 2019. Martha co-edited, with Kelli Russell Agodon, The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice. She teaches at Bellevue College. Find her online at marthasilano.net.
Return to November 2017 Edition
The day is a dragonfly hovering in the Timothy. It could rain for months
before the sun goes down. An orange buoy bobs while a sparrow
sings through a wall. The world smells of cedar, skunk spray,
a sedge’s sharp edge. The cat’s ears clear their throats,
prepare to speak. Kinnell called it “the inexhaustible
freshness of the sea.” As if you could imitate
a preening cormorant. As if she’d said can’t
lean this way, but you heard can’t live,
destiny’s dangling web. A horse
82 miles from its barn while
your brain swings open
like a giant pink
gate.
Martha Silano’s books include Reckless Lovely, The Little Office of the Immaculate Conception, and What the Truth Tastes Like. A forthcoming collection, Mission Boulevard, will appear from Saturnalia Books in early 2019. Martha co-edited, with Kelli Russell Agodon, The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice. She teaches at Bellevue College. Find her online at marthasilano.net.
Return to November 2017 Edition