By David Hanlon
Archangel
He says he is fine—
always
the same answer,
and they think nothing
of it.
He tells them he loves
to sleep at night
to dream,
it’s all he needs—
to make it through life.
In his dreams,
he is an Archangel:
Michael or Gabriel;
a protector
against forces of evil,
a messenger for good.
Perched on his bedroom window,
large feathered wings
sprout
from his back,
extend;
he jumps,
soars off into the dark heavens.
It’s the same dream every night—
and every morning,
he wakes up, sits
by the window
in the sun,
his whole
body illuminated
as he tries to reach
around to his back,
struggling
to nurse the wounds—
flesh and feathers.
Boxed-In
David Hanlon is from Cardiff in Wales. He has a degree in Film studies and is currently embarking on a course to further his studies in training to become a Counsellor. He believes his experience of reflective journal writing for his Counselling course has influenced his recent poetic endeavour in which his writing incorporates the personal and emotional. He also writes humorous poems and flash fiction and over the past year has begun to perform his work at local open mic nights. He is passionate about modes of personal expression and also enjoys the intricate rhyming involved in wordplay. He has poems forthcoming on Ink, Sweat and Tears and Amaryllis, online. You can look him up on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/david.hanlon.98
Fourth and Sycamore 