An Owl Is To Wisdom
6/1/25
My granddaughter has taken
an interest in helping me write my poem.
We talk about metaphors, avoiding cliches,
point of view, implied meaning and focus.
This goes on for hours.
We get stuck on a line and she runs downstairs to ask
her grandmother to name a plant whose flower
lasts only one day. She comes back with daylily
6/8/25
At my desk
I find a piece of paper sticking out
of a pile of books.
A glance shows that it’s two poems
my grandaughter’s left me as a surprise,
the second written from the point of view
of her grandfather (me):
1) I wake up in the morning
to hear a hoot in the rise
of the sun and
a scream in the distant
woods then I think
as a fox is to stealth
an owl is to wisdom
2) My sleep is broken
by a loud squawk
high in the sky
followed by the thwack
of my grandson’s bow and arrow
my mind comes back
and I think to myself
an eagle is to freedom
as an arrow is to bravery
9 thoughts on "An Owl Is To Wisdom"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Omg……wonderful!!!!
Thanks Coleman.
i need all the help I can get.
This is beautiful! You can tell she has the heart of a poet.
Thanks Shaun.
her handwriting is a lot like mine (bad)
and at first I thought it was something I had written.
Poor handwriting or not, she definitely paid attention when you spoke to her about metaphor and avoiding cliche. She’s wise beyond her years. Beautiful.
wow, just wow. she has found her gift and unwrapped it. what a wonderful day.
this is wonderful in so many ways. a beautiful familial relationship, a legacy/lineage/heritage of art, i feel so tender and moved.
Incredible!
Terrific, Jim. Your granddaughter is inheriting your gift.