Poetry Is A Serious Business;

Maybe Death Isn't Darkness, After All, But So Much Light Wrapping Itself Around Us--

But The Owls Themselves Are Not Hard To Find, Silent And On The Wing, With Their Ear Tufts Flat Against Their Heads As They Fly And Their Huge Wings Alternately Gliding And Flapping As They Maneuver Through The Trees. Athena's Owl Of Wisdom And Merlin's Companion, Archimedes, Were Screech Owls Surely, Not This Bird With The Glassy Gaze, Restless On The Bough, Nothing But Blood On Its Mind.

To Live In This World, You Must Be Able To Do Three Things: To Love What Is Mortal; To Hold It Against Your Bones Knowing Your Own Life Depends On It; And, When The Time Comes To Let It Go, To Let It Go.

What Can We Do But Keep On Breathing In And Out, Modest And Willing, And In Our Places?

Because Of The Dog’s Joyfulness, Our Own Is Increased. It Is No Small Gift.