The binocular owl,
fastened to a limb
like a lantern
all night long,

sees where all
the other birds sleep:
towhee under leaves,
titmouse deep

in a twighouse,
sapsucker gripped
to a knothole lip,
redwing in the reeds,

swallow in the willow,
flicker in the oak -
but cannot see poor
whippoorwill

under the hill
in deadbrush nest,
who's awake, too -
with stricken eye

flayed by the moon
her brindled breast
repeats, repeats, repeats its plea
for cruelty.

Added: Feb 20 2003 | Viewed: 2775 times | Comments (0)

Poet: May Swenson
Poem: The Woods At Night
There are no comments for this poem. Why not be the first one to post something about it?

Are you looking for more information on this poem? Perhaps you are trying to analyze it? The poem, The Woods At Night, has not yet been commented on. You can click here to be the first to post a comment about it. Of course you can also always discuss poems by May Swenson with others on the American Poems poetry forum!