Owl Talk

By the light of a quince-bright moon
a pair of snowy owls flew
low and silent, newly arrived
from frost-bound wastes,
feathers invisible against
a silver birch, hungry for a taste
of fresh mice and voles.

In an ancient ash, a tawny owl,
swivelled its head,
blinked its eyes
and hooted long and low,
a ventriloquist bird,
its beak closed
on a friendly warning.

Kim M. Russell, 10th October 2018

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My response to Poets United Midweek Motif: The Owl

Sumana says that owls have been appearing in literature for a long time: to the Bard, the owl was a merry note; an elegant fowl to Edward Lear, but to many others the owl brought gloom. Sumana would like us share how we see this most written about bird of prey and she has given us examples of quotations and poems for inspiration.

18 thoughts on “Owl Talk”

  2. Love that pair in their natural surroundings & all the owl activities like flying ‘low and silent’, ‘feathers invisible against / a silver birch’, ‘hooted long and low’ ….Beautiful.

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  8. Your words are very dignified for such a bird. There was a snowy owl that flew to the outerbanks of NC from Canada about two years ago… something to do with food shortage. People were driving from a few states over to get a glimpse of the owl!

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