laundry waves 
from a distant clothesline 
lonesome road 

coyote carcass 
on a rancher’s fencepost 
mile marker 

crossing paths 
the bull and I 
lock horns 

shed snakeskin 
looking in the bowl 
before I go 

the snap of a trap 
from beneath the guest bed 
’40s farmhouse 

dl mattila

is an American poet currently living in the Greater Washington, D.C., Metropolitan Area. In addition to appearing in national and international print and on-line publications, her poems have been on public display on the streets of Washington, D.C., honored with editor/reader-choice selections, and featured on city buses.