Feathers
by Andrew Rosenberg
Runestone, volume 5
Runestone, volume 5
Feathers
by Andrew Rosenberg
CLICK IMAGE BELOW TO READ POEM (IMAGE) AND FLIP PHONE TO LANDSCAPE
(After Uberfahren by Kathe Kollwitz)
It was an Autumn day
when Otto took to the air
his thin arms flapping
like a decapitated chicken
Otto from across the way
me and the others, dirt-brothers
a feud fabled and etched into stones
that line the pharaohs’ tombs
Him prey, us predators
glue and feathers
decorations for Otto
a beak placed over his nose
We took him from his home
and dragged him into the streets
we each grabbed a sticky limb
swung him up
and watched him soar
I didn’t see it then
but I still see it now
a tear racing
across Otto’s cheek
Two pudgy hands
bracing themselves
for ground
they wouldn’t meet
We saw the headlights
crack clean through
that right temple
feathers flying into the air
like confetti, the beak shattered
and flung off to the side
We watched Otto
get carried off
walked him to his grave
picked asters
and never spoke a word
Andrew Rosenberg
University of Connecticut
Andrew Rosenberg is a student at the University of Connecticut and is majoring in English with a concentration in creative writing. He is the Head of Communications at Voxion, LLC based out of Mystic, Connecticut. He discovered his passion for writing in elementary school when he started writing his own fiction novel. He originally attended the University of Connecticut as a Computer Science and Engineering major but is now pursuing his childhood passion.