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Board Administrator Username: mjm Post Number: 4084 Registered: 11-1998 |
Honorable Mention The Birds that Laid Down for Icarus Lauriette (Laurie Byro) Cormorants conspire to peck each other to death to furnish him with wings. Owls call in the sleep of trees. Huddled together after a night of sex, their wings ripple patterns in sand. Larks rise earlier than usual, throw themselves against weathered wood. The old man walking out in the blue morning finds a hundred still birds, a trail of blood outside windows and doors. He gives thanks for the ease of his prophecy. The old man settles to pluck at faith— to tell his son of their good fortune. In days, fields are no longer littered with bodies. The air ripples with a silence like bird song. Sappho receives a note from the lover of Icarus warning her against flights off cliffs. The envelope is sealed with wax hardened by cold tears. She offers a feather crusty from sea spray and blood. |
