“I grew up with a mother who considered birds part of her world of family and friends. She had a particular fondness for mourning doves. My first published poem—years ago in an ephemeral student newsletter—pictured my mother as a mourning dove sitting on her nest. As that poem came to mind recently, I thought about the context in which she raised her daughters, and how I think about my own daughters today.”

Carol Sadtler is a writer and editor. Her poems and reviews have appeared in One Art, The Humanist, Bangalore Review, Sky Island Journal, BigCityLit, Writers Resist,  RHINO, Pacific Review, Speckled Trout Review and other publications. She lives in Chicago with her family.