MY MOTHER’S SONG by Dana I. Hunter (New Jersey, 56)

Vibrations of your voice were
felt from my gestation, creating
the first song between us.
The smile in your eyes greets me,
as I lay on your chest and inhaled your
scent an echo of our first note.

You share stories of relatives known only
through memories. At the age of three,
you got into some moonshine and ran
through the yard, stick in hand
and mind in flight.

Moments captured in a blurry black and white photo.
A favorite memory that turns our smiles into
laughter that intermingles into a blissful duet.

We reignite our joyous verse in our
elder years. Together we speak of nothing
and express the silence of our bond
as I crawl into your bed to watch
television until sleep overcomes us.




Dana I. Hunter was one of the Top Ten Poets in the 2021 NAMI NJ: Dara Axelrod Expressive Arts Poetry Contest. She has been published in New Jersey Bards Poetry Review: Anthology 2023, LOVE IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE – ANTHOLOGY, MIGHTIER—Poets for Social Justice, table/FEAST Literary Magazine, and Open Minds Quarterly.