The Visit
\n(\u00a9 sam larkin, november 3, 2006) <\/p>\n
One night three days into apples
\nWe had a visitor come
\nWhen all lights were gone
\nAnd with almost no sound
\nThrough an open pantry window
\nAnd the screen with a rusted hole<\/p>\n
He winged in for breakfast
\nAs the moon burped, stalled, and
\nClimbed out of a tangled cloud-knot<\/p>\n
He set the clock\u2019s heart thumping
\nAnd two kinds of light burned in his eyes
\nThe one that sees in the dark
\nAnd the one that makes him an owl<\/p>\n
After a bit of a tour
\nHe touched down on the piano
\nPlaying the middle C and D together<\/p>\n
Seconds later there was a soft thump
\nAs he nailed the mouse who had
\nRun worried out onto the rug<\/p>\n
When he lifted off with his
\nHot little cargo he flashed silently
\nThrough the dining room and kitchen
\nTo the pantry as if he lived here
\nDeparting as he had come<\/p>\n
The moon came out of the misty bushes
\nOf the sky for a wide-eyed look
\nBut no one else had seen a thing<\/p>\n
In the morning I went and checked
\nThe screen over the pantry window
\nIt wasn\u2019t rusted and there was no hole
\nNo surprise there<\/p>\n
So it was a dream except
\nOut of a lasting curiosity or remembrance
\nI got up on a chair to examine the top of
\nThe tall music cabinet beside the piano<\/p>\n
It needed dusting, and there
\nWritten like kilroy
\nWas the three-clawed imprint
\nOf a large bird\u2019s foot<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"