Owl
Outside the bathroom
window
Norton heard a hoo
A bouncing baby snow owl
Bounced into a woodchuck hole
Woodchucks hibernating
Owl’s eating worms
Norton gets excited
Pulls his long johns on
Laid out in 2 feet of snow
He found the place, arm’s down the hole
Nothing nibbles, nothing bites
Nothings even close
Norton heads back in the house
Fires the black kettle up
Green tea in the belly
Green beans in the mouth
Norton found his yardstick
And an old reel of duct tape
Taped his plunger to that stick
Greased some bird seed
On the lip
Norton laid out in the snow
Arm again, down in the hole
Norton’s fishing, testing touch
Feels a bite, slowly pulls up …
Owls beak is hooked through
The rubber of the rim
Norton hears a yelping hoo
Unhooks the beak, lets baby go
Norton’s set the owl free
Heads inside , to drink his tea
With a contemplative sigh
Norton cracks a knowing smile
Soon the snow will melt away
Kettle’s whistling sound replaced
With birds and chirps of harmony.
