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| Flickr Creative Commons photo by VirtualEyeSee |
Choosing Teams
There are owls in the neighborhood now.
Two barred owls wondering,
“Who cooks for you?”
They wake us in the middle of the night.
We worry about the littlest skunk.
The one with white angel wings.
The silent puff of scent who cleans up dropped seed
beneath our bird feeders each dusk.
We are simply spectators in this backyard drama.
Is it bad form to cheer equally
for predator and for prey?
©Mary Lee Hahn, 2018
Howdy! It's good to be back!
I wrote this poem in response to Naomi Shihab Nye's challenge in her Spotlight on Today's Little Ditty. It contains a question I don't need to answer.
Jone has this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Deowriter.
Aww, that angel-winged skunk... in nature there really are no bad guys -- just creatures living their lives. Thank you for your poem! xo
ReplyDeleteHappy Friday! I just pretend that all creatures get along and no one eats anyone else....
ReplyDeleteOh, I do this too. What a perfect question and how we wrestle with this in many ways. xxxx
ReplyDeleteWrestling with the questions of how much do I want that baby to survive, or can I love the beauty of the purple thistle that farmers detest happens to me often. You've shown the dilemma (of humans), yet nature answers on its own, at least most of the time. Welcome back, Mary Lee.
ReplyDeleteDid you see Nature this past week? They just did a show about owls and what incredibly silent flyers and effective hunters they are. But that little one with the silent puff has stolen my heart! I don't know who I'd cheer for either, but I do cheer for this terrific poem, Mary Lee. It's great to have you back!
ReplyDeleteI love being awakened by owls, and I always wonder what they're up to. I also love the little skunk with the angel wings!
ReplyDeleteThat is a profound question. Nature shows us the difficult choices in life, and , how, sometimes, death is the only choice.
ReplyDeleteYour question poem is a pondering one. Yeah for nature and its inhabitors.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love it! Whooooooo cheers for a littlest skunk? You do, I do....we all do now. Great poem and super response to the question prompt.
ReplyDeleteYes indeed, cheer for them both (and lucky you, having this drama to watch.) I heard a barred owl about a week ago in the middle of the night--first one I have heard in our neighborhood. Told him/her I cook for myself. Didn't get a reply.
ReplyDeleteA silent puff of scent is JUST divine. Honestly, sometimes that's the only way I know Queen Stink has come to visit. She's so quiet!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this sensitive poem connecting us with nature–and your powerful thought/question, "Is it bad form to cheer equally
ReplyDeletefor predator and for prey?" I would cheer for both and perhaps a bit more for the underdog–that lovely "silent puff of scent," Thanks Mary Lee!
Glad you're back! Great question, Mary Lee. I think it may be unanswerable, so it is good you don't have to answer it!
ReplyDeleteOh this is wonderful! I've been rejoicing in the calls of barred owls at night lately but haven't given a thought to that "puff of scent" that raids our feeders. How callous of me! I say cheer them both on!
ReplyDeleteWe all have to eat!
ReplyDeleteI read this post yesterday and could have sworn I left a comment! Like T, I love silent puff of scent. Predator or prey -- quite a quandary (we root for both). We witness lots of backyard drama and spotting owls is always a treat.
ReplyDeleteLove it!
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed your poem when I read it on Michelle's round up. I've often wondered the same question about predator and prey. If the prey escapes, the predator goes hungry.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love this, Mary Lee. Joining my voice with all the others who say that we're all on the same side(s) with that question. :)
ReplyDeletePoor skunk. I love the contemplation this poem brings. I don’t need to know the answer. Life is complicated.
ReplyDelete