Owl Stove
I
not since spring
have we been
in the cabin
it is now
oct
ober so I
o
pen the
wood-burning
stove
surprise swoo
ps m
akes a mouse
of my mind
the stove’s full
of taw
ny flames
a mass
of fea
thery fli
cker & smo
ky down
the stove’s a
tomb
its silence’s
heat is hoo
t less
time’s heat f
ades and a bir
d-log burns
down some
shape that
once fl
ew is
as drie
d-out
as ash
II
I lift the dead
owl out
it is light
as feathers
& bird-bones
a husk
emptied
of owl
not even
a whiff
of owl left
the ghost
of its rot
-scent has
gone
up the flue
moons ago
it is like
holding
shadow
where is
the owl’s head
the beak & sockets
?
there are four
wings
four wings
!
like opening
a feather
-bound book
of bird-breath
I pull apart
two owls
two owls
bless them
they must’ve
tried nesting
in the flue’s top
then to
gether
slid
with their twigs
down
the met
al sh
aft int
o the t
rap
III
I wish
to open
the stove
this previous
spring
I wish
for fire
to fly out
I w
ish two taw
ny f
lames f
lapping
hunter silence
I wish two
symbols
of wisdom
set fr
ee by me
tw
o ow
ls a
live
two
owls to
sc
are
me
to
d
eath
Mark Goodwin was brought up on a farm in Leicestershire, and he also went to agricultural college – both of these experiences have contributed to his poetry-making. Mark has published five full-length poetry collections & five chapbooks with Leafe Press’s Open House Editions, Longbarrow Press, Knives Forks & Spoons Press, Small Minded Books, Nine Arches Press, & Shearsman Books. Another full-length collection – which also includes fiction – called Rock as Gloss, is forthcoming with Longbarrow Press.