To hear me read this, click below:

This poem was published last week in Last Stanza Poetry Journal, a beautiful publication available  here:

 

Listen

 

Sharing my home with four-legged Zen masters—
liquid beings poured beautifully
into sleek coats—

I have learned new ways
of gleaning intention,
sniffing deeply into footprints
left by the well-heeled
and barefoot alike.

My vision has sharpened in the dark,
and though my ears now tilt
quite forward,

I have stopped listening
to the words
people say,

hearing instead  the chords
emitted by their hearts
which thrum in ultrasonic frequencies
two-leggeds were not designed to perceive,

all by way of saying:
forgive me if I ignore your emails,
neglect your text.

I have an appointment to keep,
lying under my cats,
learning to purr.

 

–Melinda Coppola

 

PS: Our beautiful Ruby, the midnight mama shown above, passed last month after a long and healthy life. We are so grateful.