22 May 2007 | Vol. 7, No. 1
Feathers Ghazal
We want the other life, the one with chandeliers and feathers.
We carry our hearts to the back yard and bury them in feathers.
When I opened the front door the moon erupted.
I called to the crows and was answered by feathers.
"I know what life's about," you said. You wanted me to talk.
I left you in the den, cataloging your feathers.
Shadowed by buildings, I ran towards the subway.
Under my coat a red dress spilled feathers.
Do I remember how we spoke—its distant news, its whistle?
Today I am speechless inside the feathers.
About the author:
Susan Denning has poems forthcoming or recently published in New York Quarterly, Pindledyboz, The Bedside Guide to No Tell Motel – 2nd Floor, and elsewhere. She lives in Portland, edits Caffeine Destiny, and works at Literary Arts as the program director for the Oregon Book Awards and Oregon Literary Fellowships.
For further reading:
Browse the contents of 42opus Vol. 7, No. 1, where "Feathers Ghazal" ran on May 22, 2007. List other work with these same labels: poetry, ghazal.
