by Laura Rodley
You made it, speeding squirrel,
barreling cross black asphalt
as five cars careened
towards you each way,
north and south, no bombs
tied to your body, just
soft grey fur, acorns awaiting.
What know you about bombings
in Paris, 128 killed,
I’m ready for love
what know you
about guns in kindergarten
I’m ready for love
what know you but the rumble
of the road, earthquakes
that pass as the cars swirl by
and you’ve made it to high ground
leaves barely moving
as your tiny feet scramble up.
Author's note: I’m ready for love from Bad Company’s song "Ready for Love."
Laura Rodley’s New Verse News poem “Resurrection” appears in The Pushcart Prlze XXXVII: Best of the Small Presses (2013 edition). She was nominated twice before for the Prize as well as for Best of the Net. Her chapbook Rappelling Blue Light, a Mass Book Award nominee, won honorable mention for the New England Poetry Society Jean Pedrick Award. Her second chapbook Your Left Front Wheel is Coming Loose was also nominated for a Mass Book Award and a L.L.Winship/Penn New England Award. Both were published by Finishing Line Press. Co-curator of the Collected Poets Series, she teaches creative writing and works as contributing writer and photographer for the Daily Hampshire Gazette. She edited As You Write It, A Franklin County Anthology, Volume I and Volume II.
