MUSIC of the Week
Rachmaninov Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini Op. 43
POEM of the WeekT
Owls-in-law
by Joe Dunthorne,
These birds have no idea how to behave,
pouring glasses of water for just themselves,
regurgitating pellets of compressed bone
and now, landing on my daughter’s arms.
As she laughs, their apertured eyelids click.
When she asks which of them are single
their lighthouse smiles sweep the room.
That night I watch my daughter sleep.
I’m at her bedside. They’re in the eaves.
As she starts to dream, her eyes toil
in their sockets; I warn the owls not to
mistake this twitching for field mice
and pluck them out. I know from research
the power of their zygodactyl talons.
Their wings are silent when they descend,
claws now trimmed and tagged
with commitment rings. Her eyes stay shut
as they grip her clavicles, rising gently
between rafters. They hide in a darkness
to which my sight cannot adjust. I listen
for her cries but hear only deepening breath.