Nestled between my old turkey decoy
And the lawnmower
I found a fist-sized owl
Decorated with the lint of his youth
And the sawdust snow of carpenter bees
Drifting down upon him
Fallen from the rafters
In an eager wish for freedom
This little one had failed for now
Snapping his bill as my hand enfolds him
For return to the pile of leaves
Lining the eaves between corner and beam
Of the lean-to
He blinks his two yellow moons at me once more
As I whisper, “try again little one
When you are ready,
Try again”
6-9-15
©2019 Lenny Wells
Thoughts From The Orchard 