A Brood of Owls
We know them
because we hear them –
their privacy betrayed
by hunger.
Once satisfied, silence
returns to trees
indecipherable
in silent darkness
so abruptly interrupted
by these princes
of the dark, cared for
by a mother.
We know only
what they give –
but we take so much.
We imagine
the drama – identify
with sound – hear
ourselves – echoes
in our souls
claiming the unknown
known – filling us,
remaking us
fit for daylight.
Ken Hada lives and writes in rural Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma. His latest book is Come Before Winter (Turning Plow Press, 2023). His Contour Feathers (Turning Plow Press, 2021) received the Oklahoma Book Award. Other awards include The Western Writers of America, “The Wrangler Award” from the National Western Heritage Museum, South Central Modern Language Association and The Oklahoma Center for the Book. Four of his poems have been featured on “The Writer’s Almanac.” Ken is a professor at East Central University where he directs the annual Scissortail Creative Writing Festival, now in its 20th year.
Amethyst Review 