“Wings” by Zara Brandt

February 3, 2018Posted by

Zara Brandt (age 14)

WINGS

Never give up your wings
In favor of lesser things,
Or let the promise of an hour
Betray you with its fleeting power.
Beyond the fragile day or year
Or the dying moment now and here
The weary hours that drag so long,
Your wings will never guide you wrong.
From the vantage of the sky,
Your dreams, your wings, will never die;
And they will guide you through the clouds
Above the shadows, above the shrouds
That haunt the paths of those beings
Who, in neglect, gave up their wings.

—from 2018 Rattle Young Poets Anthology

__________

Why do you like to write poetry?

Zara Brandt: “For me it has hardly been a question; poetry is and always has been an intrinsic part of myself. I remember when I had barely learned my letters, I would compose little two- or three-line poems about simple things: the moon, or the flight of a small bird. Over the years, as I continued to scribble poems down on the bus, or type a few lines while waiting for a class to start, or scrawl a verse while sitting bored at home, I have gradually developed my voice and it has grown as I did. I suppose that poetry has always been my way of communicating with myself. Every individual has their way of defining themselves and finding their inspiration; it is something that they cannot help but do. For myself, I cannot help but write.”

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