Midnight Eyes

During a trek through a frigid woodland,

something flashed before my eyes, white,

ripping me from silent solitude,

an owl starkly contrasted against the earthen tones,

I watched, devoted and inquisitive of this enigma

as its claws touched down just before me,

midnight eyes fixated on my own, motionless,

my feet fastened to the soil beneath,

I struggle to pull myself free, to reach beyond the barrier,

while the creature continued to stare, in such silence

that I was sure I must have been deafened,

my fingers outstretched, straining,

longing for just one connection, however brief,

and with the distance scant between,

its wings spread in blinding light, vanished,

restoring my solitude

by Brittany Zedalis in Dead Snakes Poetry 

Author's Note

http://deadsnakes.blogspot.com/2015/07/brittany-zedalis-two-poems.html

Reviews

[BlackPrince]

I like how you portray here a brief encounter with an owl whose eyes you so poetically call midnight eyes.
The eyes of owls are quite famous the world over for their circular and wide appearance. Owls are even the subject of many superstitious beliefs in some cultures.

But I also like how you resumed with your time in solitude after a brief encounter with 'Midnight eyes'.

WELL DONE

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you! I wrote this during a time in my life where I felt like everything was changing all at once, and writing this helped me cope. Thank you again so much for stopping by!

[Pushkar Prabhat]

WoW!!!
richly vivid imagery.......descriptions...........just WoW!!
eloquent anxiety........
gifted imagination.......masterful penning......
i loved it!!!
:)

[Brittany Zedalis]

I am grateful, Pushkar. :)

[Pushkar Prabhat]

you are welcome..........!!! :) :)

[Richard]

This is very good Luna
did you have an experience with an owl?

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you, and yes. This was very loosely inspired from when I was young and an owl landed in my front yard, and I got the bright idea to try to touch it. I managed to touch a feather before it flew away.

[Richard]

wow ... they usually don't like to come around people I don't think :S I've never seen one

[Brittany Zedalis]

Yeah, I know. It was really strange. It wasn't at night either, which you would expect. It landed in broad daylight.

[Richard]

yeah.
that is really unusual

[Brittany Zedalis]

It stuck with me though, that's for sure. It happened around 15 or 16 years ago.

[Richard]

yeah it's a good idea and sometimes things like that come back :) like when I was young we used to have bats flying at night and we'd throw socks up at them ... which I think now was really terrible but ... yeah just but also good things too lol

[Brittany Zedalis]

Hahahaha wow those poor bats

[Richard]

I know ....
they're still out there somewhere :)

[Brittany Zedalis]

I think bats are so cool. There was one inside a hallway at my college a few years ago. A custodian had to come over and bring it down. It was adorable.

[Richard]

oh no :S
yeah they like to do their own thing and don't like being disturbed I guess I can respect that

[Brittany Zedalis]

I don't think the one in the hallway was too happy about being moved, haha. When I was a kid, I would go to a community pool, and at night the bats would fly really low and sometimes land in the water so we would have to fish them out and let them dry off enough to fly again.

[Richard]

no :) I guess he wouldn't like that being relocated
hah jeeze ... so not very good while you're swimming though

[Brittany Zedalis]

Yeah, it was scary the first time it happened when I was swimming because I didn't know what the hell was flying into the water. xD

[Richard]

yeah :S that is really freaky ha

[Brian]

This is almost whimsical in how elusive the notion, idea, or owl actually is.. like grasping for something you see and can't quite ensnare.

[Brittany Zedalis]

You're exactly right. Thank you for reading this one.

[Michael Stevens]

This was incredible--so much so that when my dad made a noise down the hall, I covered my head so the owl wouldn't poke out my eyes--lol!

[Brittany Zedalis]

Haha! That's hilarious xD

[Michael Stevens]

Thank you, and I'll be here all day!

[callmeamy]

You're such an incredibly talented poet!

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you! It's nice that people like my work. ^-^

[Lydia Shutter]

You have described the owl so vividly. I could almost see it. You bring us to the scene and allow us to become the voyeurs watching you watch the owl. Wonderful work. Lydi**

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you, Lydia :)

[J. K. Beach]

Luna, I love the mystery and the poe-like darkness surrounding it that you have created here. The strangeness of the owls apparition stacked neatly between the bookends of your solitude makes one wonder at its meaning. Is it portent... or just a casual encounter with nature? I don't see that it matters. For me it is the framework of our solitary thoughts encapsulating the strange encounters life has to offer that intrigues me. Well done!

[Brittany Zedalis]

Thank you for your great response!

[An owl on the moon]

This moment.. like the softest, most beautiful sigh... how it is filled with such magic... what an enchantment that we can all share through your vision words... I just love owls... and it's only been in the last 6 months or so that I've seen them stirring the night air here in Arkansas... Perhaps they are bringing dreams with them... one can hope.

[Brittany Zedalis]

Hope, indeed. Thanks for dropping by. :)

[An owl on the moon]

Thank YOU for making such a comfortable place to sit and read... :)

[Woody]

poe-esque? a deliciously eerie and fascinating write. the depiction of the owl jumps off the page "restoring my solitude" (like that).
I personally like owls but did you know that in my part of the world they are regarded as bad luck? (!!)

[Brittany Zedalis]

Yes, they are sometimes viewed as a bad omen. Perhaps that's the explanation for the one I saw as a child.

[Jennie Baron]

Exquisite words weaving incredible images! As the other reviewers have said, I feel the sensations and see the sights with the narrator. And the owl is a symbol to which the reader can attach almost any meaning the imagination can come up with. I'm so pleased to read this beautiful writing.

[Brittany Zedalis]

I find owls to be very soothing yet mysterious for some reason. Thank you for your kind words.

[Brian]

Yes, I am quite the night owl myself and I find them to be sort of that soothing image/being I suppose because it's symbolic nighttime to me.