Shadow Wings
Written April 16th, 2011
The sun slips down below
The moon is on the rise
Stars appear, one by one
Twinkling from way up high
As darkness fall, shadows take wing
Filling up the sky
Built for the night
Silent in flight
Speaking in echoes
With sensitive ears to see
What their eyes can’t
Masters of airborne dance
Rising and falling
Imitating the moon
A stunning aerial attack
On helpless prey
Until the sun comes back
A huntress plunges down from the sky
Dipping claws into the rushing stream
Snatching a fish as she flies by
Silver scales flash in the starlight
In a cascade of water droplets
She will not go hungry tonight
The moon swoops low
Soft infant hues on the horizon
Pushing back the stars
Dancing a final goodbye
Before they wink out
Homeward bound the shadows fly
She soars down
Into the earth’s great maw
Swallowed up by darkness
That lasts through the day
A place full of chatter
As pups call to parents on their way
She listens carefully
For that one special voice
Lost in a sea of noise
A seemingly impossible task
But she does it each night
Suddenly she hears his call
She finds his perch
Joining him upside-down
Wraps him lovingly in her wings
Gently grooming his fur of soft silk
While he sates himself with rich milk
Mother and child fall asleep together
The cave falls quiet
Full of peace and family love
Little infants snuggled safe
Bellies full and growing strong
They’ll awake next dusk
And dance again to night’s song.
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A poem for my favorite animals ever: bats. Such beautiful creatures, yet so misunderstood. They're the only mammals that can fly, and depending on the species they eat everything from insects, blood, fruit, fish, and even frogs! The largest species of bat is the Flying Fox, which can grow to have a wingspan of six feet!
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