Sunday, September 30, 2012

The Tyranny of Owls

Yeah, it's a poem. Try not to gag....Not my usual thing. But at least I'm writing again...

The Tyranny of Owls
by A. A. Floyd

They raid our nests in the night
Taking not the weak and the infirm on the wing
But fledglings too young to fly
And mothers plump with those yet unhatched
This crime will not go unpunished
Too many have died
Come! Come! Now! Now!
The call resounds
Echoes through the trees
Sharp beaks rap against the bark
Clawed feet jostle to find better purchase
A deep breath and a pause
Before an explosion of black upon the night sky
Blotting out the stars and moon
As if to murder the night itself.
A flash of black and white
The battle is engaged
Many soldiers of the Black will fall before our foe is vanquished
But we are many
As common as the dandelion
As ubiquitous as blades of grass in the valley
As long as there have been shadows there have been crows
Feathers and forms fall from the sky
The battle won
But at great consequence
Their chick is flung from the nest to the hungry ground below
The hen’s eye is pierced by a Black warrior, who surrenders his life in the conquest
Winging away into the night, she will be lucky to survive the month,
Much less to find another mate to further harass our patch of sky.
The cock lies broken upon the battlefield,
His wing crumpled useless and dragging behind him.
Come! Come! Here! Here!
We call to the executioners
Shadows slip from nearby shrubs
Coyotes heed our call
They break the bodies of our enemies and our siblings
Shattering bones between strong teeth to release the souls of our mothers, lovers, sisters and children
And send them to Mother sky
White down released to the wind will be woven into our nests to warn future predators
That we will not abide
The tyranny of owls