Poems by Pamela Kenley-Meschino
By Pamela Kenley-Meschino
Rats garden tunnel
through snow drifts, create
networks of exits and entrances
for speedy escape. Nearby,
squirrels scurry, settle in meditation
on the fence, tiny paws in prayer.
Birds wing between
barren branches. Somewhere,
high above the blank sheet
of winter sky, hawks fly in secret.
I want to plant a flag of invitation:
Seize the rats, please!
The one time I encourage
Nature’s predatory side.
The swoop and talon retrieval
of unwelcome interlopers
would return my garden view
to its former dormant charm.
But I wonder what I cannot see
in dark and hidden spaces—
Thriving worlds of kith and kin
where rats convene their counsel
beneath the rockery, emerge
in hurried spurts, forage for survival,
fearful of shadows, the scent of discovery,
as they try to live another day
of heartbeats amidst faded undergrowth.
“Soft Touch”
By Pamela Kenley-Meschino
Two cats, tails aloft,
wrap around my ankles,
undulate a sweet machinery
of vibration to let me know
our connections are beyond
curious or kind, more
like gratitude, a soft touch
of reverence, a synthesis
of care and nonchalance.
They saunter away, satisfied.
I belong to them.
“All I Choose to See”
By Pamela Kenley-Meschino
Nature tells me if I listen
I will hear clouds move,
shadows shape shift
in place of sunlight,
rainbows emit sound colors
like water falling over stones.
I will recognize whispers of oak trees
with their chattering inhabitants,
a chaos of crows taking off
in a language of insistent metaphor;
breezes will mingle
in agreement, fling starlings
out to open sky on luminous wings
while I, purveyor of close encounters,
become a pioneer for the staggering
symmetry of all I choose to see.
- Pamela
Kenley-Meschino is originally from the UK, where she developed a love of Nature,
poetry, and music, thanks in part to the influence of her Irish mother. Her
poetry has appeared in Literal Latté, Bards Annual anthologies, The
New Verse News, The Stafford Challenge Anthology, Verse
Virtual, Literary Veganism, and was featured on WNYC’s 2025 poetry month
presentations. Her work has appeared in the Northport Arts Coalition’s Poetry
Path. She is an educator whose classes explore the connection between writing
and healing and the importance of shared stories.