A Kitten, a Child, a Great Horned Owl

 

A Kitten, a Child, a Great Horned Owl

As Oreo naps in a sunny patch
the great horned owl drops like a cruise missile
to snatch with explosion of wings.

Howling, rising toward the moon
Oreo with feline super strength lurches.
Breaks loose.

Falls like a fuzzy pineapple.
Snatches a branch in a redwood tree
high as an eight-story building.

Your child comes home. What do you tell her?
Swallow hard. Point to a fur-ball
clinging beyond ladder height, beyond help.

Set food at the base of the tree.
All through evening echo the child’s
Here kitty kitty into dark forest.
Tuck her tears into bed and pillow.

At dawn, lucky you, awaken to
a scratching at bedroom screen.  

Is love a choice, or born within?
Might this amazing child
choose the opposite of hate?

After quiet reflection
might she respect owls,
their silent flight, their grace?

Behold Oreo, full grown.
See scars of talon holes on her shoulders.
Watch as daughter strokes a peaceful purring cat
who evermore sleeps under benches,
never on top.

…..
First published in Muddy River Review. Thank you Zvi A. Sesling, editor.
Painting by Katie Col
Photo by Dennis Demcheck