People ask so much
of me: Do you believe
in ghosts? Were you
ever in love? If you were
an animal, which one?
A bird, I say.
All three agree a
plain old bird is boring,
think themselves more
exotic: tiger, giraffe,
dragon, which one says
doesn’t count.
Entwined in the ongoing
argument, it threads like a web,
I become a fly
trapped in the room,
like a boy
tethered to his dying
father’s bed
as he prepares for this
great leap. He is
no ordinary bird.
Watch.
Patrick Whitney goes to Brooklyn Elementary School. He writes stories and poetry. He also wrote a play.