BY THE RIVER

The winds rush
the Hemlock and
those Weeping Willows
by the river where
roams a coyote who
pierces the night
with one long syllable
of a howl  - eerie
and haunting, on a
tower high and, as
on a stage, a spotlight
shines down upon
a majestic bird of prey,
that Great Horned
Owl, the Night Tiger
of all nocturnal birds
of prey, whose flight is
soundless amidst the
whisperings of the
Hemlock and Willows,
the creature whose
voice joins the coyote's
howl with its own
multi-syllabic baritone of
repeated "hoooo, hoo, hoo, hoo
hoo." Awakening in the
night-tide, these sounds
penetrate the silence
but for the ticking of
a clock, our bedroom
windows, open for the
breeze, captures the song
of life and the dance of
Hemlocks and Willows
by the river with the eldest
of muses, Kalliope,
the mother of a Bard
who plays upon her lyre.