After

No one spoke of what killed the doe that lay
in the middle of the open field.

It was the year she found her parents were not
her parents.

It was the year she learned
that everyone lies.

She began to believe
in oak trees,

placed their thick-veined
hands

over the doe’s body, buried her
in green

to keep the buzzards from circling.

---

MARCENE GANDOLFO’s first poetry collection, Angles of Departure, (Cherry Grove Collections, 2014) was a finalist for the Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize and the Patricia Bibby First Book Award, and a semi-finalist for the Washington Prize. Her poems have recently appeared in numerous journals, including Poet Lore, The Café Review, DMQ Review, Bayou, and Harpur Palate. She has taught writing and literature at Sacramento City College and other northern California colleges. She lives in Elk Grove, California, with her husband, daughter and three cats.