Pat Owen
Pat Owen went from the left-brain career of legal publishing to the right brain world of poetry. The shift still sometimes makes her dizzy. Her work has appeared in The Louisville Review, the Gulf Stream Literary Magazine and the anthologies This Wretched Vessel, & Grace, and The Messenger Is Sudden Thunder. She was a finalist in the Atlantic Review International Poetry Competition. Her debut poetry collection, Crossing the Sky Bridge was published by Larkspur Press. Her second collection Orion’s Belt at the End of the Drive was published by Accents Publishing A third collection is forthcoming.
Hawks
My daughter thinks hawks are loved ones
come back to protect her and who knows,
maybe someday I’ll be soaring high above
the tall trees looking down, but today we’re
walking together in the park and as we pass
the glistening magnolia and holly trees, I
do not say that’s what I wanted to plant
for the twins until the idea was vetoed
as too messy. And I feel good about
holding back, not treading on hurtful ground,
practicing for next time, and for the time
after that, until I grow closer to the goodness
I can only imagine.
Sheila-Na-Gig online 