Giant owls
Flying over streets
Giant fowls
Feathers falling like sheets
Back on the ground
We ride on insects
They make not a sound
Keeping us safe from the flying objects
The owls are back, they talk in the night
I try to discern their language of flight
There's much there to learn if I could interpret
But my mind is earthbound, much as I might work it
Some feathers sing and some cry out loud
But the owls are selective, they don't like a crowd
They talk to each other in a voice I would capture
If I could but learn the language of raptor
Still my mind is earthbound and lacking insight
I admire and ponder this language of flight
I've never seen them, my vision is dim
They leave me, believe me, out on a limb
The dogs complain, they don't like them much
But their visit is short and then back to their clutch
There's a rabbit that lives here, under the shed
But he's keeping quiet, and keeping his head
The black cat is blending somewhere in the night
He knows his survival depends on his sight
And I lie bedridden, depending on sleep
My flight not so fancy as that of the sweep
Ebony ears carving a melody
To not listen is a fuchsia felony
Pumpkin patch a ballroom for hags
As scarecrows do the monster mash
Crop circles and winding corn mazes
People love to explore such places
In the red barn we try to get warm
A spider near apple cider does no harm
Black bats are the birds of night
A hooting owl gives them fright
Frosty air thick fall’s denim delight
Candy apple on stick take a bite
Autumn fair with colorful leaves
All is well on this calm Halloween
Festive fun despite the chill in air
Wind is a hawk that squawks and stares
blurry dark evening
owls short ears are very sharp
she zooms in on prey
as night falls it pains me so
for i must prove my love in front of a world
not worthy of me but still I hender my life
in such strife for a pure soul in need of me
for I shall not pass in the night as a mere
stream at deaths door nor will I lead myself
to an early grave before repentance for I am
the child of God who made sacrifices by my
own faults for I have lived homeless and
hopeless life at times but I have never
forsaken a life a soul for I cannot lie here
and pretend to not know suffering by ommission
for god has given me strength far and wide
and I shall never turn the other cheek when
a loved one needs me for there has been
many cold lonely nights where life left me
afraid backed in a corner yet I still raised and so
shall this life in this day as Nelson Mandela
fell short of the glory of freedom as Jesus
Died for us as we sleep as night falls on us
Written by Yolanda Nicholsen
May 22nd 2004 right before my
sons graduation Fort Myers Florida
Sunsets in Saharan skies
Every nomad looks and sighs
Reprieved from unrelenting heat
Peruse the sun in its retreat
Every desert roamer knows
Nights with cool sand twixt their toes
Their utmost fear at the oasis?
Serpents lurk in nighttime places
So the creatures of the night
Creatures that emerge and bite
Only fear the bedouin
Replete with pots to cook them in
Pincers and a stinging tail
Indiana Jones might wail
Only serpents chill him more
Night time creatures by the score
Scurry over moonlit land
And sting the foolish barefoot man
Nomads snare this living lunch
Dine on scorpion crispy crunch
Once scorpions and serpents prowl
Whence the Pharaoh Eagle Owl
Looms so silent in the gloom
Serpents and scorpions meet their doom
When nightfall dips in palest of gold
I feel a sense of indignity,
As owl's melody loses its eloquence
Through the absence of a safe abode;
Where quietude calls for avian coos
The kind which never seeks to intrude…
And its orbed eyes larger than neons, freeze
In need of natue's hued, aerial parade---
Startled, bird's forest trail is washed out
By mourning dew of poison
Denying the barren woods of nourishment
while allowing thieves to skin owl feathers,
mangled talons like so, wasted ---
Wise keeper of secrets, hushing the noise.
Life marvels at your nocturnal guardianship
yet, this world shares not your moonlit toots
lithography of hills no longer owns
your delicate interludes of silence...
Man ravages bird navel, flesh , and plumes
For trading quests, for self- interest ---
Can this earthly slaughter cease
sucking nectar soil of birds dry?
Somehow, I still hail the dwindling number
of hooting owls
Which believes that the next generations
will wander on an environ,
Soaring their wings... joyously free at last.
Serpents, scorpions, owls,
Swingers, stingers, wise old gals,
Dogs, bones, bow wow wows,
Paws, purrs, cat's meows.
Canines, felines, feral creatures,
Headlines, deadlines, double features,
Ping, pong, pink expressions,
Sing, song, apprehensions.
Sows, cows, milk-bag givers,
Scaredy-cats and chicken livers,
Porky pigs and truffle treasures,
Dorky wigs and other pleasures.
Polywogs and rollie pollies,
Gollygogs and holly holies,
Ice cream trucks and cone packers,
Dumb clucks and silly quackers.
Gritty Kitty, kitty litter,
Nitwitty babysitter,
Baby bottles, bubble slumbers,
Rubber baby buggy bumpers.
All around are funny creatures,
Rabbit Ears and bunny features,
Serpents, scorpions, and owls,
Trick-or-treaters call them pals.
What do you look for in a man?
I usually say wisdom.
An owl that is respectful,
Thinks with his head,
But still acknowledges the heart.
As much as i pretend to love those birds,
Who flock to your side once smitten—
I tend to fall,
For those sly serpents,
Who could care less if I’m eaten.
I know they tell lies,
But their sickly sweet words,
Dripping like honey,
Trick my senses,
Into thinking they’re sweeter than they are cruel.
Hiding behind that vexing charm,
Serpents weaken their prey.
Combining appetite with desire,
They confuse my instincts.
My scorpion tail hesitates,
Not knowing whether their smile is false or not,
I shouldn’t sting if I’m unsure.
His smirk hides his fangs,
He knows what he does to me.
I let his venom spread through my veins—
I wish I didn’t fall for serpents.
SERPENTS SCORPIONS AND OWLS
We are led to believe that serpents lie
But that is the theme of a famous story
And by eating forbidden fruit, we die
Living a life no longer blessed in glory
Scorpions look evil, but that’s the point
A stinging tail used only when required
But depends however on a flexible joint
And with its protective scales, is attired
Owls are supposed to be wise, it is said
I guess it’s helped by wide angle of view
And sees so much when turning its head
Well perhaps after all, it may just be true
One night, in the famous Amazon Rainforest
held its first “Mr. or Miss Venomous Quest,”
Goals of the search were for entertainment and fun
catered to all diurnal brutes who’re sad without the sun.
Nocturnal animals hosted an amusement battle
where the chosen team-representatives will wrestle,
They put up a wrestling ring under an oak tree
for all spectators could clearly view or see.
Invited judges were two birds from the west
who’ve the biggest eyes among the animals in the forest
They were Mr. and Mrs. Owls of Nocturnal Village
who married after one of them took advantage.
Loud cheers filled the air during that night
Judges’ wide eyes were as bright as the moonlight
Before the serpent has been bitten by the scorpion,
Strangled by her pinchers, she was declared champion!
Entry for: Serpents, scorpions, owls poetry contest.
Sponsor: Sara Jama
I think I have met them all
- the sneaky serpent -
- the toxic scorpion -
- the wise owl -
There are some things in nature to be cautious with,
amongst the multitude of things to enjoy
People can reflect these very things
As I walk through life, I observe the reflections
I make choices along the way, as best I can
The owl hoots to remind me, he or she is still there
As well as lessons I have learned - and I will not break -
4/3/25
(C)opyright
slithering, creeping, shuttering terror
serpent grovels along the dust of earth
forked tongue hisses, taunting and twisting
is there smoke as nostrils flare?
is he something to beware?
followed by scorpion, sharp edged spite
stinger rises, poisonous venom hot!
daring a challenge, zig zag striking!
watch your feet is this the devil’s plot?
owl in the sky stretches its wings
caresses air above the cursed ground
screeching, taunting, threatening
for it wells knows
one snap of its powerful beak
its death gripping talons
will extinguish
both serpent and scorpion
below.
Out n’ out predators,
Observant with wide eyes,
Ogre like, tear up prey.
Oviparous they are.
Ornithologist’s pets.
Ousted as ill omen.
Happy pumpkins
Apple dumplings
Licorice sticks
Lollipops to lick
Owls hooting
Witches looting
Emerald city dreams
Every Halloween
Needling together fun things
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