Words and Verse
The Hunt of an Owl
January 8, 2000
The light of evening's sunset sinking
Draws yellow-red upon the lake
And of that lake no longer drinking
Are ducks that ride its ripple-wake
And even ere the sun is setting,
Full-moon emerges shining bright
At last the sun fades out, thus letting
Moon and stars control the night
And as the lake prepares to slumber
And distant town prepares to sleep
In nearby wood an untold number
Of creatures stir within the deep
There first come waking sundry crickets
To nightly song their number breaks,
Their soft sounds ringing through the thickets,
Off in the wood, the owl awakes
From forest deep, the silence breaking
To moving hooting of an owl
And lo, the whole of wood is waking
To this nocturnal avis-howl
And up the owl flies, moving lifting
To fly and prowl its native wold
Through chilly night this fowl goes drifting
Beneath the starlight, silver gold
Then as the owl through wood goes winging
Through frozen icy air of night
Beyond the crickets sweetly singing
A red-tailed hawk flies off in fright
The owl now sees this, hears the flutter
Of prey that he has scared to flight
He feeds on hawks, like bread and butter
He swoops without a sound through night
The hawk swerves through the clustered hollow
And through the trunk and bough of trees
And yet the owl endures to follow,
Each swerving of the hawk, he sees
Then suddenly the hawk goes winging
Up through the forests verdant tops,
In night, upon his trail still clinging
The owl emerges from the copse!
They wend through sky, hawk veering, swerving
Up over forest, over lake
The fleet owl follows every curving,
Stays in pursuit, for hungers sake
Then faster hawk goes through moon's lighting
To outfly its impending doom
Their frantic, frenzied furied flighting
Is silhouetted by the moon
Then down the hawk goes, in an instant
There follows owl, pursuing still
Hawk darts to sleeping township distant
Owl follows through night's airy chill
Then o'er the township goes the racing
Above the chimneys, fleet they go
Distraught hawk fleeing, intent owl chasing
Then suddenly hawk dives below
Around the houses swerving, veering
To lose the owl's tenacious flight
But yet the owl is ever nearing
It follows, swerving left and right
Then lower flies the red hawk fleeting
Down through the alleys, moonlit streets,
His frightened heart, with frenzy beating,
The owl, his heart with malice beats
The owl within his mind is grinning
As on his red-tailed prey he gains
He leers at fresh meat that he's winning
The hawk, to stay ahead takes pains
Then up again the hawk goes winging
Up from the town flies red-tailed fowl
And even so to hawk's trail clinging
Up flies the keen pursuing owl
Then o'er the lake again ascending
The pair of birds flies through the night
As frenzied hawk through night goes wending
To dodge the owls pernicious flight
Again with moon still silhouetting
O'er lake reflecting full moon's light
The owl keeps gaining, nearer getting,
To soon bring close to quarry's flight
A screech is heard, thus ends the chasing
When owl with satisfaction sees
As dead hawk to the ground goes racing,
Falls spiraling into the trees
The hungry owl proceeds to follow.
To find the landing of his meat
Now dives into the forest-hollow
Now dives and then proceeds to eat
The owl's great feast draws to a closing
As sun emerges shining bright
And owl, come day, resumes reposing
To hunt again another night
The light of evening's sunset sinking
Draws yellow-red upon the lake
And of that lake no longer drinking
Are ducks that ride its ripple-wake
And even ere the sun is setting,
Full-moon emerges shining bright
At last the sun fades out, thus letting
Moon and stars control the night
And as the lake prepares to slumber
And distant town prepares to sleep
In nearby wood an untold number
Of creatures stir within the deep
There first come waking sundry crickets
To nightly song their number breaks,
Their soft sounds ringing through the thickets,
Off in the wood, the owl awakes
From forest deep, the silence breaking
To moving hooting of an owl
And lo, the whole of wood is waking
To this nocturnal avis-howl
And up the owl flies, moving lifting
To fly and prowl its native wold
Through chilly night this fowl goes drifting
Beneath the starlight, silver gold
Then as the owl through wood goes winging
Through frozen icy air of night
Beyond the crickets sweetly singing
A red-tailed hawk flies off in fright
The owl now sees this, hears the flutter
Of prey that he has scared to flight
He feeds on hawks, like bread and butter
He swoops without a sound through night
The hawk swerves through the clustered hollow
And through the trunk and bough of trees
And yet the owl endures to follow,
Each swerving of the hawk, he sees
Then suddenly the hawk goes winging
Up through the forests verdant tops,
In night, upon his trail still clinging
The owl emerges from the copse!
They wend through sky, hawk veering, swerving
Up over forest, over lake
The fleet owl follows every curving,
Stays in pursuit, for hungers sake
Then faster hawk goes through moon's lighting
To outfly its impending doom
Their frantic, frenzied furied flighting
Is silhouetted by the moon
Then down the hawk goes, in an instant
There follows owl, pursuing still
Hawk darts to sleeping township distant
Owl follows through night's airy chill
Then o'er the township goes the racing
Above the chimneys, fleet they go
Distraught hawk fleeing, intent owl chasing
Then suddenly hawk dives below
Around the houses swerving, veering
To lose the owl's tenacious flight
But yet the owl is ever nearing
It follows, swerving left and right
Then lower flies the red hawk fleeting
Down through the alleys, moonlit streets,
His frightened heart, with frenzy beating,
The owl, his heart with malice beats
The owl within his mind is grinning
As on his red-tailed prey he gains
He leers at fresh meat that he's winning
The hawk, to stay ahead takes pains
Then up again the hawk goes winging
Up from the town flies red-tailed fowl
And even so to hawk's trail clinging
Up flies the keen pursuing owl
Then o'er the lake again ascending
The pair of birds flies through the night
As frenzied hawk through night goes wending
To dodge the owls pernicious flight
Again with moon still silhouetting
O'er lake reflecting full moon's light
The owl keeps gaining, nearer getting,
To soon bring close to quarry's flight
A screech is heard, thus ends the chasing
When owl with satisfaction sees
As dead hawk to the ground goes racing,
Falls spiraling into the trees
The hungry owl proceeds to follow.
To find the landing of his meat
Now dives into the forest-hollow
Now dives and then proceeds to eat
The owl's great feast draws to a closing
As sun emerges shining bright
And owl, come day, resumes reposing
To hunt again another night
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The Hunt of an Owl
The Hunt of an Owl
