GRAY OWL
Yellow gaze
calculating night
gloom
swivels past musty
tracks
old runs through
straw
the hulks of
winter harrows
homes in on
scrabbles
takes to subzero air
feathered cloud
quiet as prayer
what do you sense
as now you settle?
leaving damp fur
rolled up with tiny
claws
and clavicles
winged image
of our common
theme
floating the
backdrop
cloaked in elegant
ruff
and coverts. Indifferent
to grief or innocence.
Present in this
moonset
although I’m not
your prey.
The Raven's Perch, 18 Feb. 2021