Feathers by Nolan Dannels

they cut off my wings

to count the feathers

like they were tree rings

I'd like to know the number

I wonder if I might take solace

in knowing I used to have so many

maybe

just maybe

it will mean something

feather to feather

wing to wing

I used to fly

I used to be happy

once upon a time

I knew how it felt

to dive through the clouds

carried by the wind

but they cut off my wings

to count the feathers

like they were tree rings

and they won't tell me

how many there were

so I'll just tell myself

that there were too many

for them to count

---

Nolan Dannels (he/him) is a Persian American poet and lyricist who graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a Master's in English Language and Literature, and he is currently a Literature PhD candidate, specializing in contemporary Anglophone poetry at the University of California, San Diego, in addition to serving as the Editor in Chief of Alchemy, Journal of Translation for its Summer 2020 issue. His work appears in Kissing Dynamite.