MC Pratt

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Be still
watch the evening sky
spot the small shadow
passing through dense evergreens
or posing in stillness.
Listen for whispers,
small wings brushing air
in night flights, on the hunt.
Golden eyes glowing,
lamps in the darkness
flicker so fast
were they there
or imagined from a place
of yearning, a deep wanting
for the vision to be feather and bone.
Whispers rise to raucous staccato cries
An unmistakable urgency,
pleading for a future
beyond the shadows.

Father Red Spruce
Picea rubens

There are stirrings
deep in my root-soul.
I know my body well,
every tinge, tug and tightening
tells me that the season of burrowing
is upon the mountain,
upon me, a sentinel of sorts,
a guardian for the
in-gathering of those who must shelter
from the storms that will
dishevel my sails and threaten my main mast,
While those tucked into boughs or below,
under snow, needle carpet,
leaf fall and hummus
may see the arrival of anther season.
Should I fall, from the ravages of winter
upon my arms and shallow bones,
or the rages of the two-leggeds,
in their greed and carelessness,
these small lives will be at the mercy
of Herself, the mother who succors all.
Guard them, Mother, should I
cease to connect earth to sky,
and nurture my seed drops
into new life
when the ground warms again.

M.C.Pratt is a long time resident of both Allegany and Garrett Counties, calling Frostburg home for many years. She works in environmental and arts education, creating and implementing integrated arts programming for the Allegany County Public Schools.

She maintains her studio practice as a visual artist, and is currently fulfilling painting commissions in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Maryland. She is an avid kayaker and finds solace and inspiration for all creative practices in the ever changing natural world.

Tile: Picea rubens Sarg., National Museum of Natural History.