WISE OWL

                    An owl was standing on our backyard fence
                    Serenely poised, undaunted as I neared,
                    As if a conversation might commence,
                    A situation amiable but weird.
                    I softly spoke to it, five feet away,
                    And said, “Well, howdy, Owl.  You’re welcome here.
                     Now let me get my camera—please stay,
                     I promise you there’s nothing you’ve to fear.”
                     When I came back, she stood just as before,
                     Allowing me to click off several frames,
                     A presence she could easily ignore,
                     A feat that equanimity proclaims.
                          Wise owl, indeed, she’d surely reckoned me
                          The friend I was, and not her enemy.

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