“Central Park Owl”
By Eric Mathern

The escaped owl sat in a tree
Glaring from its perch
As dusk fell and we heard
The bells of a nearby church.

The great owl’s eyes were tawny
And seemed to glow in the dark,
Like the soft yellow windows
Visible outside the park.

Photographers on a park path
Hunched over tripod and scope,
While people all around
Stared and expressed hope

That the huge Siberian owl,
Obscure in the dark,
Would return to the urban zoo
On the east side of the park.