Owl

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.