Talking Heads

It’s something to look forward to,
Mom says
of the talking heads
on the evening news,
her portal to the world.

When Dad was still here,
they’d watch together, and in twenty minutes
their own heads
would drop to their chests.

Now she nods off alone
under waves of silver hair,
the ocean at dawn,

and under the waves
is a teeming otherworld
where coral, whales, fish, and seaweed flourish.

Something to look forward to.

Betsy Martin is the author of the poetry chapbook, Whale’s Eye (Presa Press). Her poetry has appeared in Atlanta Review, The Briar Cliff Review, Cloudbank, Crack the Spine, The Green Hills Literary Lantern, Juked, The Louisville Review, The Penmen Review, Pennsylvania English, Typehouse Literary Magazine, and many others. She has advanced degrees in Russian language and literature. She is also an artist.