I Know What It Was

I Know What It Was

They said it was just

an owl in the tree

but they didn’t

fool me!

I saw teeth

not a beak,

red eyes

not gold,

I won’t be told

it was only fluff and feathers

round its throat;

it was a collar

an those weren’t wings

but silky folds

of a black, black cloak

That was no

Too - wit, too woo

I heard

it was

I’ll get you - ou!

Patricia Leighton