After a Summer Shower by Martha Christina

The rain hasn’t discouraged
the finches; wet as they are
they keep feeding, flying
between the six perches
on the feeder and the rain-
bent rose canes. My cat
watches from the windowsill,
begins to chatter in a language
perhaps the finches understand,
but they ignore her, as if
they recognize the safety
the screen provides.

On the porch railing
sheltered by the wisteria,
a squirrel grooms its
wet whiskers, wet tail.

The rabbit with the white blaze,
slips under my neighbor’s fence,
begins to eat the freshened clover.



Martha Christina is a frequent contributor to Brevities. Longer work appears in Innisfree Poetry Journal, Naugatuck River Review, earlier postings of Red Eft Review, and most recently in Star 82 Review, and Crab Orchard Review. She has published two collections: Staying Found (Fleur-de-lis Press) and Against Detachment (Pecan Grove Press).