I first knew something had changed
\nwhen I thought,
\n“my wing has fallen asleep” —
\nmy wing? I sat up heavily.
\nThe dog ran from the room
\nas I spread my wings out
\nsix feet either side of my body
\n(no exaggeration).
\nI ran from the house
\nand all the birds for miles
\nwere silent.
\nMy cat eyed me coolly.
\nI leapt and fell.
\nleapt and fell.
\nI ran around the yard
\ntrying to glide.
\nI climbed on the picnic table
\njumped
\nand fell on my face
\nmy wings folded elegantly behind me.
\nMy neighbor came out at the commotion
\nand I wrapped my wings
\naround my nakedness.
\n“Why are you wearing a leather cape?,” she asked.
\nIt\u2019s sort of a gift, I answered.<\/p>\n
Since that day, I\u2019ve gotten used to the stares 9\/7\/2004<\/small><\/p>\n [for another take on this imagery, see going home<\/a>]<\/p>\n Listen to Icarus<\/a> <\/p>\n My Virtual Chapbook<\/a> (table of contents)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I first knew something had changed when I thought, “my wing has fallen asleep” — my wing? I sat up heavily. The dog ran from the room as I spread my wings out six feet either side of my body (no exaggeration). I ran from the house and all the birds for miles were silent. … Continue reading Icarus<\/span>
\nand whispers.
\nI\u2019ve learned to wax my wings
\nagainst the creaking
\nand the mites.
\nI sleep standing up —
\nrarely upside down.
\nI\u2019ve jumped from buildings, bridges and planes
\neach time falling like a stone.
\nSome gifts are hard to take.
\nSome gifts aren\u2019t all that great. mjh<\/span><\/p>\n
\n