by D.C. Nobes
when an owl, too early, calls
they, whoever they are,
call it November
and they use numbers as push pins
drive them through the flesh
as a deep wound, one that aches
and as a response as afternoon subtly
slipped through the tranquil fingers
an owl called
wooh & wooh
and the trill echoed down
and stopped
and she had her own timing
as if when heart-empty she sprawled
in a fan of feathers,
roused herself, a child clambering back
up to the top of the slide
the carpenter’s circular saw
cutting & moaning nearby was nothing to this
the whole afternoon waited,
shrews and voles, trembling in the leaves
did not even dare whisper
the mortal voice does not shout
and is not afraid to summon all within earshot
come and depart
come and depart
James Shapiro teaches public speaking to elementary, middle and high school students at a school in New York City. In the small hours of the night he waits for poems to make themselves known. His poems and short prose pieces are occasionally published in literary journals. His email is jamesearnestshapiro@gmail.com.
D.C. Nobes is a physicist, poet, and photographer who, aside from 2 years on Vancouver Island, spent his first 39 years in or near Toronto, Canada, then 23 years based in Christchurch, New Zealand, 4 years in China, and has since retired to Bali. He used to enjoy winter but admits that he doesn’t miss the snow or the cold. He thinks almost all poetry is meant to be read aloud. His poetry and art photographs have been widely published, including in Consilience Journal, Dreich, Fevers of the Mind, Heterodox Haiku, miniMAG, Moss Puppy Magazine, Paddler Press, Porch Literary Magazine, The Hooghly Review, Transients Magazine, and Whimsical Press. Twitter:@sebon521 Instagram: @sebon52.