Purple Lovegrass
by Deanna Lernihan
Today, there is a fawn
with an out-of-body stare
her bloodied snout kisses asphalt
her bristled hair quivers
like stalks of summer corn
as cars stream past her fetal curve
along that yellow centerline
and I remember your daughter
she danced between the cubicles
hair tousled and morning-streaked
like her smile that never faded
even with the screech inside her
the tire marks that marred her road
she found her stretch of sedge
and purple lovegrass
where now a doe twitches her ears
in search of a bleat
those thousand threads of silk
that tenderness beneath the husk
Deanna Lernihan (she/her) is a Virginia-based public health professional whose work spans mental health, food sustainability, and animal welfare. She enjoys writing poetry, getting lost in nearby woods, but mostly spending time with her family. Her poetry has appeared in Mslexia, Passionfruit Review, Unbroken Journal, Cerasus Magazine, and Susurrus, among other literary publications. Find her on Instagram.
