Owl Moon by Jane Yolen

~"Wolf Moon"



"It was late one winter night,
long past my bedtime,
whem Pa and I went owling.
There was no wind.
The trees stood still
as giant statues.
And the moon was so bright
the sky seemed to shine.




~"Musical Notes in the Snow"



Somewhere behind us
a train whistle blew.
long and low,
like a sad, sad song. . .




~"Byron in Hawaii"



Our feet crunched
over the crisp snow
and little gray footprints
followed us.
Pa made a long shadow, . . .




~"Owl and Moon"



We reached the line
of pine trees,
black and pointy
against the sky,
and Pa held up his hand.
I stopped right where I was
and waited.
He looked up,
as if searching the stars,
as if reading a map up there.
The moon made his face
into a silver mask.
Then he called:
'Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo,'
the sound of a Great Horned Owl.
'Whoo-whoo-who-who-who-whooooooo. . .'




~"Full Moon"




~"Crow against Snow"




~"Sparkling White Snow"



We went into the woods.
The shadows
were the blackest things
I had ever seen.
They stained the white snow.
My mouth felt furry,
for the scarf over it
was wet and warm.
I didn't ask
what kind of things
hide behind black trees
in the middle of the night.
When you go owling
you have to be brave.




~"Moon over Clearing in Snow"



Then we came to a clearing
in the dark woods.
The moon was high above us.
It seemed to fit
exactly
over the center of the clearing
and the snow below it
was whiter than the milk
in a cereal bowl. . .




~"Shadow Hooted"



The owl's call came closer,
from high up in the trees
on the edge oif the meadow.
Nothing in the meadow moved.
All of a sudden
an owl shadow,
part of the big tree shadow,
lifted off
and flew right over us.
We watched silently
with heat in our mouths,
the heat of all those words
we had not spoken.
The shadow hooted again. . .




~"Icicles and Cloud"




~"Glittering Tree"



When you go owling
you don't need words
or warm
or anything but hope.
That's what Pa says.
The kind of hope
that flies
on silent wings
under a shining Owl Moon."