Quill
by: Karen A. Romanko

Parchment burned
Embossed ashes
floated on zephyrs
into the clear, cobalt sky

A raven swooped low,
catching the cinders
on charcoal wings
and carrying them up, into the darkness

The words were lost--
black on black on black--
amidst the bird's plumage,
while she forgot the world of light

She flew for years in the forest,
careless of the extra weight
until the moon tricked her,
blotting out the Sun

She died on the temple steps,
shedding a single, sooty feather,
freeing the ashes...words
onto the white marble stairs