Birds sing through the rain
as children sing through a war.
Do flowers still grow
where bullets fall?
A single petal on my palm
left over from those that blew
from the stem, light as feathers,
when my son and I exchanged
a portion of our air to watch
the world fly a little.
And a tiny, unbidden prayer
tethered to each flake
as they drifted over the grass
webbed with rainwater.
Petals oblivious of their charge,
unknowing of what they bore
against the odds, against everything.
Like children whose songs on the wind
carry the world.
Michael Goodwin Hilton
Michael Goodwin Hilton is an award-winning playwright, poet, and short story writer who has had his work developed and produced across the United States and Europe. He is a two-time recipient of the Governor’s Award for Best Play in the State of New Jersey and The Spotlight Award from True Acting Institute, among other honors. His work has been published by Smith and Kraus in The Best Men’s Monologues of 2019 & 2020 as well as the Best Women’s Monologues of 2020 & 2022. His debut short story collection, “What The Statue Thinks”, will be published by Wild Ink Publishing in early 2024. He lives with his family and teaches full time in Bavaria, Germany at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.