The Owl Poems (or, Four Poems for the Owls)

The Owl Poems
(or, Four Poems for the Owls)


1

Leaf in the Water

I am a leaf in the water
I think I’ll float on down to the Ocean
I laugh when I hear the fish under me complain
I’ll tell you the truth,
I'd rather be eaten up as a fish
(trying to escape, as someone’s prey)
Than scattered here and there.
As a leaf—as I am,
Having done nothing but lay around
On a tree, then on the ground all day—
And now on top of the water,
Mostly hidden—:
For me, the world will never be real.

No: 2806 (9-25-2010)


2

Tomorrow, this!

How do I awaken the elite sleepers?
There are no metaphors for that
No poetry, per se (they do as they please
in a world they’ve created)
I need loose electric wires
tied to their toes, that’ll
Make them move!
“The world is falling apart,”
I tell them, “and they have to save it!”
Or…“Prepare us to live in the one
essential to survive in,
that they are destroying for us
while here on this earth.”
But all they do is pick blossoms:
“Tomorrow,” they say “we’ll have
a meeting, form a committee!

No: 2805 (9-25-2010)



3

The Eaters

The fish in the sea are thirsty
The pigs in the pen are hungry
The foul in the leaves is looking
for a worm;
Grasp the fact, everyone is
looking to eat—
All going from one place
to another
Some walking, some flying
some swimming—
This is the real world (Mr. Hawking)


No: 2804 (9-25-2010)


4

Stages of our Lives

We are all in different stages of our lives
Some in summer: running to and fro like
wild geese and puppy dogs;
Some in spring: looking at him and her,
and marvelous things;
Some in fall: trying hard to make ends
meet;
Some in winter: like me, writing poems
and traveling, celebrating life
taking what is left in, as if it just began.


No: 2503 (9-25-2010)