Juliet Belle
I’ve lost the names of days
their assigned numbers
yet fluttering birds sing
in the chimney at dawn
winter clouds turn pink
at first and last light
I live in the rhythm of new life
baby hunger and satiation
perched on my heart
latched on my breast
keen observer of her world
she thrusts upon us, unblinking
soft rhymes of wonder and fresh hope
….
This poem is from the book Daphne Lifts Up by Donna Emerson (Finishing Line Press), and can be found at https://www.finishinglinepress.com/product/daphne-lifts-up-by-donna-emerson/

Donna divides her time between Petaluma, California, and her family homestead near Ithaca, New York. Retired from teaching at Santa Rosa Jr. College and her clinical social work practice, her recent poetry publications include La Pressa, The Paterson Literary Review, and Weber: The Contemporary West. Her chapbooks: This Water, 2007, Body Rhymes, 2009, Wild Mercy, 2011, and Following Hay, 2013. Her poetry books are The Place of Our Meeting (Finishing Line Press, 2018) and Beside the Well (Cherry Grove Collections. 2019). Visit Donna’s website: donnaemerson.com