He glides, descending to the forest floor -- his round face like an African mask, carved out of soft wood. He sails down smoothly (his face as wide as his shoulders with big ears jutting straight up like horns) -- descending to the forest floor where a mouse scurries along. And the wingspan of the great night bird spreads, showing his white plumage in this, his pale phase, as he snatches it he sings and dances in the half-light, scattering dry leaves, spreading again those great wings. On the takeoff he fans his fluffy black-and-white tail. Used with the permission of Copper Canyon Press, P.O. Box 271, Port Townsend, WA 98368-0271, www.cc.press.org | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...OCTAVES: 2 by EDWIN ARLINGTON ROBINSON DOROTHY'S DOWER by PHOEBE CARY A THOUGHT by WILLIAM HENRY DAVIES THE LANDING OF THE PILGRIM FATHERS IN NEW ENGLAND [NOVEMBER 19, 1620] by FELICIA DOROTHEA HEMANS GO DOWN DEATH; A FUNERAL SERMON by JAMES WELDON JOHNSON |