Taking a Turn on Sunday Afternoon by D.C. Buschmann

We happened upon a cul-de-sac

where Rose of Sharon thrived,

and tomato plants—silent martyrs

staked and caged—disinvited deer.

Needle-laden branches lined

and bowed to sidewalks,

matadors coaxing us

to discover what lay under—

fallen quills turned brown

covered bare earth

like soft, raw silk

on the shaded mound.

No dog barked; no cat sauntered

or rubbed legs pleading for strokes.

Orange fox squirrels 

chattering and scampering 

from tree to tree

a street over, 

neither spoke 

nor appeared here. 

Hence, 

the slightest trill

amplified, reverberating

through treetops 

—a lone soprano singing all the parts.

D.C. Buschmann is a freelance editor in Carmel, Indiana, where she resides with her husband and two miniature schnauzers, Cupcake and Coco. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies in the US, the UK, Australia, and India. Her first chapbook, Schnauzer Talk, is forthcoming in the fall.