Rebecca O’Bern

At thirteen, I finally wanted to get Mom
a gift she would love, so I spent my allowance
on an ornamental wall fixture,
an orange face on a sun
that smiles and sings Oldies
when you push the round, little button on its nose.

It is music she grew up listening to
in a time before Vietnam,
It’s Now or Never on the radio
in her mom’s hunting truck,
going over bumps in the road,
no seatbelts, so fast
their heads hit the top
and both throw out hilarious laughter
in a way I have never seen.

Rebecca O’Bern’s poetry has been published in Connecticut Review, The North Central Review, Scintilla, Blue Monday Review, and other journals. Her work has been awarded the Leslie Leeds Poetry Prize. She is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing at Southern Connecticut State University.