"The Doe Outside Our Back Door" by Martha Silano

The Doe Outside Our Back Door

is chewing with her eyes closed,
spittle dribbling down her chin.

Fearless, her ears two semaphores
signaling calm. Chewing

like a construction worker
holding up a SLOW sign, fur

like mown hay drying in the sun.
My daughter says she must be

a little bit out of her mind,
but so must I, enthralled

by this scruffy ungulate
chewing like a hairdresser

laying down a perm at Hair Today,
Gone Tomorrow, a wash and set

at Curl Up & Dye. Chewing,
by the wild rose and serviceberry,

like she’s lounging on a sofa
in the family den, catching up

on the soaps like a sailor
on the fat of a summer afternoon.

Martha Silano

Martha Silano is the author of five books of poetry, including Gravity Assist (Saturnalia Books, 2019). Her poems have recently appeared in Colorado Review, Alaska Quarterly Review, Southern Indiana Review, and Bennington Review. She teaches at Bellevue College.

Headshot: Kelli Russell Agodon

Photo Credit: Staff