Breath & Shadow
Summer 2025 - Vol. 22, Issue 3
The Anatomy of a Feather
written by
Ann Chiappetta
On a cold wet day He brings them
one soft as a new cloud when held to a cheek
a second sharp-quilled and speckled
my collection grows with their molting
an Audubon bouquet Arranged in a pinch pot
losses my love repurposes
not finished with gifting
he places another in my hand
a blend of dark Iridescence
so rare it renews us
Ann Chiapetta’s award-winning poems, creative nonfiction, and essays have appeared internationally in literary journals, popular online blogs, and print anthologies, such as The Avocet, Plum Tree Tavern, Magnets and Ladders, Oprelle, Western PA Poetry Review 2024, and Breath and Shadow, among others. Her short story The Misty Torrent appeared in the Artificial Divide anthology published by Renaissance Press (2021). Ann is the recipient of the 2019 GDUI Excellence in Writing award. Independently published since 2016, her six-volume collection includes poetry, creative nonfiction essays, short stories and contemporary fiction.
Find out more at her website!