Arctic Owl + Winter Moon


 Charles E. Burchfield (1893-1967), Arctic Owl and Winter Moon, 1960; watercolor on paper, 39 3/4 x 33 inches; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, Alabama, The Blount Collection

 

White-Eyes

BY MARY OLIVER 
In winter
    all the singing is in
         the tops of the trees
             where the wind-bird

with its white eyes
    shoves and pushes
         among the branches.
             Like any of us

he wants to go to sleep,
    but he's restless—
         he has an idea,
             and slowly it unfolds

from under his beating wings
    as long as he stays awake...