On a Walk by Martin Willitts Jr.
The world is vastly different during a walk
through the neighboring forest
as birds define territory and song.
A snowy owl in his white cotton-bathrobe
ruffles his wings, then settles back
like a cranky old man. Whatever he thinks
he heard, twitches in his ear.
It’s not the uncomfortable shift in weather, wind,
or temperature. Either way, the world glides
in a whisper, a nerve-wrenchingly quiet,
its long shadow soon following.
Martin Willitts Jr, a Comstock Review editor, has 25 chapbooks including the Turtle Island Quarterly Editor’s Choice Award, “The Wire Fence Holding Back the World” (Flowstone Press, 2017), plus 21 full-length collections including the Blue Light Award 2019, “The Temporary World.” His new full-length is “Harvest Time” (Deerbrook Press, 2021).