Starlight Starbright*

The night holds no secrets from me.

For I have the power to see

into its most impenetrable shadows.

I have become like the owl,

a most proficient predator,

sitting patiently upon my carefully chosen roost

silently awaiting my prey.

Hoo, Hoo. It’s what I do.

It’s neither right, nor is it wrong.

                                   For such judgments mean nothing to me.

For this is a wild place,

a place of predator and prey.

So I wait, and nothing shall escape my cunning.

The shadows can offer no sanctuary,

for my steady, feelingless glance

can penetrate even the darkest of hiding places.

                                                                                                       My prey shall have no warning,

                                                                                                       nor will he see or hear his death swoop down upon him.

                                                                                                       And then for an instant, he will know the horror

                                                                                                       as he feels the steel of my talons penetrate his skin.

                                                                                                       And when the ritualistic feast is over,

                                                                                                       I return to my roost, still savoring a final bit of entrail.

                                                                                                       Hoo, Hoo, it’s what I do.

copyright © Camillo Bica

*Reference to the Starlight Scope,

a night vision device.

copyright ©