In the early hours of morning,
my heart swooped from birch to willow
when an owl called at the window,
a fluty, chilly shiver.
Through the tilted slats of the blind,
the honeyed amber flash of eyes
and fluttering ‘You-ooh-ooh’ drew
me to the frost-kissed pane,
froze my breath in a cloud of ‘Oh!’
as I watched her dive below
from a branch to snatch her prey,
a dream to offer me.
I whispered into darkness,
‘Stay and keep me company,
dawn is just a glimmer
on the seam of earth and sky.’
But she turned her wings against the breeze
and flew back to keep watch in the trees.
Kim M. Russell, 19th November 2019
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: Surrealism in Poetry
Linda is our host for this week’s Poetics, an exploration of surrealism in poetry.
Linda not only shares with us a guide to surrealism, but also poems by poets associated with the surrealist movement: Arthur Rimbaud, Charles Simic and Charles Baudelaire.
writing in north norfolk 
Kim- this is marvelous- I especially love this stanza:
I whispered into darkness,
‘Stay and keep me company,
dawn is just a glimmer
on the seam of earth and sky.’
‘Seam of earth and sky’ is unearthly in feeling.
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Thank you so much, Linda.
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froze my breath in a cloud of ‘Oh!’
that is a perfect line, Kim. Chrystal poeming here.
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Thank you, Sarah.
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Hi Kim. Great poem. I especially love lines 17 and 18. God loves you.
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Thank you, Frank.
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Nice line: “froze my breath in a cloud of ‘Oh!’” and nice visit from the owl.
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Thank you, Frank.
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I love the whole visual aspect of almost becoming the owl. Like a wonderful dream, to ride with his wings,
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When I was a little girl my Grannie would act out a ditty “I’m a little birdie. I go hop hop. I went to the window to say stop stop stop. I went to the window to say how do you do? BUT she shook her little tail and away she flew.” Of course my grandmother was both the bird and herself which I realize now is the essence of it. Now when I play with the dogs I put my hand in back of my tush like Granny did. When she was the bird now I am the dog wagging my tail with cheer.
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Owls and ravens make wonderful totems and protagonists; this piece is sprinkled with surreal fairy dust and wonderful pulsating whimsey.
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Thanks Glenn!
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This is wonderful Kim. It lifted and carried me along. Excellent!
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Thank you, Rob!
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Love “frost-kissed pane.”
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Thank you, Nan!
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I love that your heart swooped as I think of this as a movement of the owl as well. Beautiful description here as well including frost-kissed pane. I especially enjoy that this is in the first person which means it then happens to me as I read along. A beautiful way to start my morning…seeing your owl.
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Thank you, Lill!
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Owls are always good companions. Breathtaking indeed. (K)
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Thanks Kerfe.
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What a golden vision of the owl, feeling a kinship of sorts…beautiful poem, Kim!
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Thank you, Lynn!
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Love this line: froze my breath in a cloud of ‘Oh!’
I’ve twice had a snow-white owl swoop down over my back yard at night when I was in the pool. A mystical experience.
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Thanks Judy. I love to see owls but they are elusive. I mostly hear them.
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Had to look this up: White owl is the symbol of wisdom. The snowy owl is the symbol of endurance. It represents big dreams along with the ability to achieve them. It is the sign of new beginnings and moving forward with all might.
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Thank you so much, Judy. I hope the owls in our garden are snowy owls. It’s hard to tell in the moonlight.
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Excellent.
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Thank you!
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