Nocturnal Entrance

by Judy Katz-Levine

One year I saw a white toad,

another year the deer came

and gnawed our weeping cherry tree.

I thought you did the tearing but it was

the deer. You tried to save the tree

and it blossomed with white stars

and leaves like verdant lips.

One day I saw mourning doves on the wire.

Then driving home in the late afternoon

in the sunset an osprey rose

into the cypress by the park.

I thought you knew, but you didn't you

were busy inventing with wires.

One summer I saw a black snake

scissoring the water the runes

of ripples spelled my name.

* * * * *

Judy Katz-Levine's new book, The Everything Saint, was published by Word Press late 2018 and is available on Amazon. Of the book, the publisher says "The Everything Saint shows us the holy in the ordinary, and Judy Katz-Levine is a faithful guide to such wonders." Her recent poetry and translations have appeared in Writing In A Woman's Voice, Miriam's Well, Salamander, Blue Unicorn, Ibbetson Street, Event Horizon, Peacock Journal, and many other venues. Also a jazz flutist, she enjoys playing at jam sessions.