Owled
He has found a roost in me.
Claimed a high-up hole,
a radius of undisturbed sky.
He has mapped out his orbit,
his beat. Made it known
he is ready to sink
his talons into any prowler’s eyes.
He has trained me to
his rhythms – a ruffling of feathers
at dusk, that stretched elastic sense
of how long he’s been gone.
Mornings, I feel for
the silk and down of him.
I turn to the woods.
I listen for his scream.
Jonathan’s pamphlet ‘Explosives Licence’ was a winner in Templar Poetry’s 2018 IOTA Shot competition. His first collection will be published by Pindrop Press in 2020.
atriumpoetry.com 