The Birth of Venus
Jennifer LeBlanc
Our own mourning dove,
its own recognizable call,
cooing outside our window,
dusk-heavy, for stillness I want,
waiting for the indigo proxy of sleep
to sweep down like tide’s ebb.
If the devil’s in the details,
I’ve grown demon-fed,
red brand of iron obsessions.
I need an expanse of sea,
believing the small compass in me
will needle north, as it does,
the stuff of faith, not trust.
I’ll learn to let go
so as to emerge,
stepping clean from the scallop shell,
pure as pearls rising, as they do,
each pearl of radiating sand.
Jennifer LeBlanc earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Lesley University. Her first full-length book, Descent, was published by Finishing Line Press (2020) and was named a Distinguished Favorite in Poetry (2021) by the Independent Press Award. Individual poems have been published or are forthcoming in journals such as Consequence, Solstice, Nixes Mate Review, San Pedro River Review, and The Main Street Rag. Jennifer is a poetry reader for Kitchen Table Quarterly. She was nominated for a 2013 Pushcart Prize and works in the English Department at Tufts University.