Suddenly they turn.
I stop. They come back toward me,
my window open to the glorious smell of horses.
I’m asking the gods to see them home.
– Jim Harrison (“Night Creatures”)
Busy—Lord knows the gods stay busy in the wild,
or on the edge of it down country roads, day or night,
saving a snake or feeding a squirrel to black buzzards.
They tend to favor believers and seldom look
for converts with hands already full, and some
will work against you when you lose your compassion.
Sometime last night waiting for cars to pass,
a Barn Owl left his fencepost too late for an illuminated
mouse, swooped too low, too close to the lights
headed down the road. It’s a game, you know,
taking advantage of humans, and the gods love it—
love leaving little lessons like owl feathers.
drycrikjournal 