two poems by carolyn elias

Animals in Winter

A pale yellow sun observes
brown trout undulating inside a frozen lake,
the red swollen bellies of cardinals cajoling
grey squirrels and hares scurrying through
scrub forest probing for derelict, succulent acorns.
Mahogany horses trot, abandoned
by their humans shut inside:
their skin too soft, too thin
to play in listing winter wind
trundling over the tawny prairie.

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Winter Indigo Night

a pregnant timber wolf glistens
beneath smoky moonlight
peeking through skeletal limbs
of an ancient blue spruce who will outlive us.
Panting slowly, her snout ripples:
sweet winter apples begging to be wine.
She wails long and low as a viola
tandem with my floating breath.
We search burning stars
for the mates who left us spinning
so slowly we are standing still.
In the distance, the first rays of rosehip,
the scent of daisies coming soon.

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about the author:
Carolyn D. Elias’ poetry is in the anthology Turn Left at Nowhere: A Century of Morris Poetry. Her work has been published by Lunch Ticket, Apeiron Review, Sassafras Literary Magazine, East Jasmine Review, 1947, Slink Chunk Press, The Tower Journal, Digging Through the Fat, The Magnolia Review, Decades Review, and Beakful. Look for Carolyn’s upcoming publications in Black Fox Literary Magazine, The Poetry Storehouse, Ann Arbor Review, HelloHoror, The Voices Project, Poetica Magazine, and Torrid Literature Journal. Follow her on twitter @CarolynDElias and learn more about her here