June 20: Owl

summer solstice
the long silence
after the owl calls

March 12: Sabino Canyon

in the canyon

listening for owls

after dinner

February 2: Trompe l’œil

Small hole in a tree—

looks like an owl’s perched in there

but it’s a knot. 

November 13: Snowy Owl

Holiday planning.

A friend texts

about his first Snowy Owl. 

June 4: Blagden Preserve

Old twisted lilacs

mark where the farmhouse was.

Nearby, owls calling.

 

Posted with Blogsy

February 5: Haiku Workshop

I spent my weekend immersed in a workshop on Haiku, the Moon & Ekphrastic Poetry, taught by Gary Lawless at Maine Media Workshop. Our discussions were wide-ranging and inspiring, from the story of Gary's apprenticeship with Beat poet Gary Snyder and life-long friendship with Snyder's mentor Nanao Sakaki, to the evolution of the haiku form from more formal Japanese poetry, to names of the moon in various cultures, punctuated by a presentation from Jim Nickelson of his series of moon photographs, Adventures in Celestial Mechanics, and a visit to the book arts studio where another class was making letterpress prints.

These haiku arose from the weekend's experiences and conversations:

Half moon
split above bare trees--
six more weeks of winter.

Fossilized shark's tooth--
at a certain angle
it looks like a heart.

Nanao said,
No swear words in Japanese.
What the fuck?

Granite quarry--
reliquary
for his grandfather's sweat.

Fixated on
a severed chipmunk's head--
this floating world--

A poem, not really mine, that wrote itself from a classmate's story:

He stops to check
the wind--
mother's ashes.

Another poem, not mine, that wrote itself for Gary from a classmate's story:

Owl flies
in the headlights--
mating season.

This class was a gift from my parents for my 50th birthday, so this haiku by Issa, one of the big three classical Japanese haiku poets, spoke to me:

The moon and flowers
Forty-nine years
walking about wasting time.
                 --Issa

Found poems created from Jim Nickelson's presentation, some almost verbatim:

Too close to the moon
and the photos look the same--
the moon is the moon.

In square photo format
only so many places
to put the moon.

Pale moon, pale sky--
how subtle can you get
and still show the moon?

Astrophysics professor--
no homework on nights
of the full moon.

He remembers where
he was that night
but forgot the name of the moon.

Moon of Falling Leaves.
Moon When Eyes Hurt from Bright Snow.
Hunger Moon. Bone Moon.

January 28: Owl

A good day spent birding with friends in southern New Hampshire and into Massachusetts, for the Super Bowl of Birding. A little screech owl, napping in full view up a tree on the rim of its nest hole, was our favorite sighting of the day.

 

To remain as calm

as the small owl hanging out

eyes closed in the sun--

 

E. Screech Owl in Newburyport, MA. Photo by Robin Ellwood

 

Posted with Blogsy

January 21: Women's March

Instead of marching

we went north, consulted owls

for needed wisdom.

 

Great Gray Owl, rare visitor from the north

 

Posted with Blogsy

November 27: Barred Owl

In the dark between

holiday-lit houses

hungry owl hunting.

Posted with Blogsy

March 20: Habitat

In the town ballpark:

parakeets nest in the lights,

owls sit in left field.

 

Monk Parakeet

Pelican Park ballfields, Cape Coral, FL (see the owls?)

Burrowing Owls on their nest mound

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

February 4: Owl

silent owl waiting

somewhere in the stand of pines

dark soul of the woods

Posted with Blogsy

November 9: Open to winter

cold as the new moon

I write about Snowy Owls

wish it were that easy

Posted with Blogsy

November 5: Owl visitor

Camden village green--

a dozen raucous crows mobbing

one calm Barred Owl.

Posted with Blogsy

November 14: Owl kind of night

Light snowfall, falling dark.
I drive toward the Big Dipper
expecting owls.

September 7: Before dawn

Awake before dawn

imagining morning flight,

owl calling nearby.

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May 10: Owlets

Took the boat shuttle across the harbor to Vinalhaven this foggy afternoon to meet up with our friend Kirk, who took us deep into the mossy woods on private property to see a Great Horned Owl nest with two fuzzy owlets in it. We also glimpsed both adults keeping a close eye on us, making sure we didn't get too close.

As if covered with lichen--

fuzzy owl nestlings

waiting in the fog.

 

 

Posted with Blogsy

January 26: Snowy Owl at the Ice Bar

As we walked in the dark across the parking lot of the Samoset Resort last night, on our way to visit the outdoor Ice Bar there, a Snowy Owl flew over our heads and landed in front of us in full view on the roof of the fitness center, its white body shining in the dark.

 

The Ice Bar inspired

a visitation by

an Arctic emissary.

Posted with Blogsy

November 27: In bed

I fall asleep to The Hobbit,

dream of owls,

wake to torrents of rain. 

November 9: Lying awake, listening to the dark

Here in town
dog's barking replaces
soft calls of owls.

January 23: 0 Degrees

Yesterday it was so cold that my brain was frozen. So, no post. Today it's even colder, but somehow seeing this in my car this morning inspired me:

Zero degrees--
a single cold egg
in an owl's January nest.