Laura Rodley, a Pushcart Prize winner, has recently published several notable works. Her books include “Turn Left at Normal” from Big Table Press and “Counter Point” from Prolific Press.

Additionally, she has an upcoming release titled “Ribbons and Moths: Poetry for Children,” set to be published by Kelsay Books.

Rendering

The fruit of elderberries
condensed into an elixir has healed me,
so many berries, pearls of antioxidants,
how many berries went into each spoonful
I swallow. Every time I waited
for our elderberries to ripen, the birds
got there first. Here in my spoon,
someone else has done the gathering,
deep indigo, royal purple,
I swallow forgiveness,
the ripening of fruit, the sun.

Reindeer Rock

Bursting with the hooves of reindeer
upon his feet, he gallops from dining room
to living room, to bedroom and back.
He snorts as he opens the Pepperidge Farm bag
nosing for crumbs; reindeers’ favorite.
He nuzzles the back of his mother
hoping she’d throw candy canes,
reindeers’ energy bars.
He twirls on his cloven hooves,
his antlers racking down the bread,
the Christmas cookies, the oranges.
He opens his eyes in alarm,
he stamps his way to the living room
ready to help Santa out of his sleigh;
a good boy after all.

Written in Snow

Heaven submerged in the clouds,
drifted onto the ground, flufting up
beneath my fleecy boots.
Every step I take, a taste of heaven
where branches fall unheeded
and owls lift up their wings to flight.
The rocks take heed; they are magnetizing
heaven within their solid hearts.
Pages written in sand now cemented
into stone, crystals that recall
the time when Christ walked
upon this earth.
In these woods, there may
have been another martyr whose
story went unwritten. No matter,
the owls lift his voice into the clouds,
they sift his songs into heaven.