Night Stalker plaintive lowing marks a fullness
plodding hooves beat milking time
our path cuts deep in grassy stubble
empty pails await in autumn's eve
silent wings on station overhead
soaring raptor of the night
sharpened ears alert and watching
in patient blind-spot stealth
furtive scuttles flee our steps
telltale cue for swooping strike
wingtip eddy prickles up my neck
deeper darker shadow falls to earth
startled hearts adrenalize
in sympathetic fright
shrieking mouse shares primally
the plight of hunted prey
As a boy, I used to round up our dairy cows twice a day. In the fall we turned them into the hayfields to browse whatever grass was left. One year, an owl learned to use us as 'beaters' to scare up mice as we trudged along the cow path. I almost never saw it until the final strike, even though it would circle only ten feet over my head. I never heard it either, although I felt the breeze from its wings a couple of times.
Honorable Mention for the July 2022 round of Poetry Topic of the Month Contest
Prompt 1: Wild about Wildlife Month
All Writing.Com images are copyrighted and may not be copied / modified in any way. All other brand names & trademarks are owned by their respective companies.
Generated in 0.06 seconds at 8:16am on Nov 07, 2024 via server WEBX1.