Great Horned Owl photo by Kathie Adams Brown 8-8-08In dusky light I walk
my dog tethered to me
the desert landscape spread before me
like a thorny blanket
when the hooting of an owl
calls to me from the canyon.
Below me in the twilight
with a half moon rising
on silent wings the dark bulk flies
up into desert skies
and lands on a Palo Verde tree
less than fifty feet from me
rotating its horned and feathered head
it locks amber eyes on my frozen form,
while the dog tugs impatiently on the leash.
I stand breathless and silent
with the desert chorus singing
their nighttime lullaby
--whit WHEET! the trasher,
--tink, tink, tink, the black-throated sparrow,
--squeak! squeak! squeak! the Gila woodpecker,
and while the cactus wren cackles and scolds from the cholla cactus,
The owl and I stare each other down
as minutes pass like desert gnats,
until the harbinger of night
lifts off on ponderous and silent wings
and flies away with my breath.
~Kathie Adams Brown (October 7, 2008)
One Single Impression Prompt 32: Serendipity
