5am and I almost forgot the owl




I have been deliberately saving the bats for the other end of the day, but owl was almost overlooked because I don't see it as often. Once (stuck in traffic on the way to the Royal Cornwall Show) we saw an owl hunting in broad daylight. It had a grumpy look to it and we amused ourselves by inventing back stories for it. 


201
A composition of washing hangs
On the spare room airer, plastic rungs
Provide a structure for the slung
Socks and baby t-shirts

202
Over the landing banister
The blue striped duvet cover dries
It went camping, the wet dog had
Left a print of herself on it

203
In the wash-basket, a crumpled
History of last week in dank cotton
Fast-wicking technical fibres and
Odours of sweat, mud, seaweed

204
Surfboards lean in the shed
Crunches of sand pressed into wax
One board-bag zip jammed open, the
Aluminium corroded by salt

205.
The sky is dark until the earth rolls
It still feels like the sun comes to us
Looks for us over the horizon, brings us light
To break the fastness of sleep

206
Morning dilutes night, so birds
Busy in trees, on wires, risking
Ground ventures, can consume in sips
Boosts of brightness

207
The ground surface is wet, is a
Crumpled, flannelled face both
Weary and fresh awake, is a
Fumbling kettle-in-hand body

208
Owl’s last glide, claws extended
Under opal leg-feathers, the gleaming
Wingspan beats once from catch to
Flight, the gold eyes do not blink

209
Dream phases haul up from
Deeper levels, not without
Friction or fight, follow the
Analogy of hooked fish

210
Sheep watch the owl’s swoop
And flight from this grass shore
To the next island in the sea
Of mist and morning calm

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Contact Pants Conundrum

Image
There is weather today, I do note it: take a few moments to reckon the size of a cloud (big) and the frequency of rain (sporadic.) Centre of my interest though is a stack of magazines. Not the fashion kind. This is martial arts research. I'm not even sure what it is I'm looking for, but intuition calls loud. A range of old adverts skew some amusement. Contact pants, for example. Pants are not trousers where I come from. They are underwear. Professional contact pants: improved smirk value. But why would a person be likely to purchase a grappling hook and a lock pick set? For specialists and hobbyists only, the blurb assures. Guidance on the pheromone spray that attracts women against their better judgement? I doubt it works any more proficiently than the mysterious potion that defines your muscles while you sleep. But, then: I wonder is some sprayed on this paper? What was my intuition thinking, making this ghastly shout… Tea break time. There's a lot of words
Read more

A Candle Lit

Image
We live by the light of those we love, whether they are here or gone. That light is inextinguishable. To have the light and not the company is an adjustment process we call grief. Loss is a shadow, equal to the light. We adjust not to lose the shadow but to see both. Hard to bear - yet without darkness, light cannot show its full wonder. Let us look after each other, then, and value our days, our company, and live to leave vast shadows, and understand that pain is a strange gift, a tender, haunting, purposed gift. And if you are grieving: let your tears flow, let your anger shout, let yourself plead and deny and feel terrible: it is not an easy process.  Know that other people know grief.  Know that other people are hurt to see you grieve.  Know that love is a fundamental response. There is no time limit to this adjustment process. No right or wrong way to feel. One day you will stand back and see that the shadow is proof to the strength of the light, a
Read more

Spring Is Ticking

Image
It has been a while since I wrote a blog post - I have been writing books, and keeping a diary, the days and the work aren’t lost, just ticking quietly in a corner. [There’s a little dust in that corner but the shelf is made of strong oak planks, and the light is enchanting. A plant grows in a pot, it spouts leaves. A half candle stands in a china holder.] At Paddock Garden (properly titled Paddock Garden Orchards, I am a lazy typer) a tree corral has been constructed. It contains persimmons which may not have survived the recent cold blasts and heavy rain, along with some happy pepper trees, bladdernuts, and plum yews. We plan to underplant and interplant extensively in this concentrated area. Around the grounds also we have begun some windbreak hedges, mostly of elaeagnus and hazel. We have a line of sapling native oaks edging the spinney. The first of our camping bay areas is growing emerald grass that was seeded last autumn; the second has recently been seeded; the last three need
Read more