Artwork by Caden Weghorst
Broken Wing
Trying to accomplish his utmost
in sync with his developing abilities,
he still messed up—
and when he did, there was nothing
to shield him from
the scathing criticism tearing at the
fabric of his fragile ego,
slashing deep wounds into his young
psyche, and plowing
ugly furrows through his translucent
talents and dreams,
scarring his passage into adulthood,
where the ominous
shadows of his past continued to cling.
Instead of soaring high
like an eagle exploring the open sky,
he mirrored a flying
dragon stranded with a broken wing.
Helga Gruendler-Schierloh is a bilingual writer with a degree in journalism and graduate credits in linguistics. Her articles, essays, short fiction, and poetry have appeared in the USA, the UK, Canada, and South Africa. Her debut novel, Burying Leo, a MeToo story released in 2017, won second place in women's fiction during Pen Craft Awards' 2018 writing contest.
Caden Weghorst is a young, budding artist who enjoys sketching, drawing, and working with clay.