an owl bats the air
with one wing on the East wind,
one wing on the West wind—
the lilt of the land like
a live wire,
up and down
in the rain and dark
but alas, soon
his nest is in view,
in the knot and nape
of the jade yews.
Home,
see his mate rise
to give a full beak kiss,
nod, then show him
the pale lily eggs,
warm and new.
See him pull her near
and say,
“Oh love of mine,
this is my oath:
in this vale of
land, sea and air,
I hail and call down the moon
to rise and set,
wax and wane
upon your bid
and all for you.”
About the Creator
Kate Kastelberg
-cottage-core meets adventure
-revels in nature, mystery and the fantastical
-avoids baleful gaze of various eldritch terrors
-your Village Witch before it was cool
-under command of cats and owls
-let’s take a Time Machine back to the 90s
Reader insights
Outstanding
Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!
Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Easy to read and follow
Well-structured & engaging content
Excellent storytelling
Original narrative & well developed characters
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Keep reading
More stories from Kate Kastelberg and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (35)
Beautiful piece! Congratulations on the win. :)
Ridiculously beautiful; I teared up. Keep writing. Your fan, ROCK
Such a choice use of odd little striking words! Beautiful love oath, owls are awesome! 🦉
This is beautiful! Well done! This needs to be printed on greeting cards and tattooed on the wall of a gift shop.
Ohh wow I love this! So beautiful and read so smoothly. Loved those subtle rhymes. Great job and congratulations on the win!
Very poetic and ageless. So Unique
Could read this over and over again. The alliteration, half rhymes, assonance … masterful techniques deployed with skill and sensitivity 😍
Original concept, beautifully written. Congratulations on the win 🎉
Thanks to everyone for providing such kind and thoughtful comments!
Incredible work. Congrats on the win.
Congratulations! Absolutely stunning poem ❤️
Fantastic work
Absolutely stunning! I adore this. Unique in every way, hits right at the heart. Congratulations!!
Great writing Kate. Congrats on your prize! 😊🎉
Wow 🥰 A truly inspiring and well deserved win 🏅
This is so lovely, Kate. Congrats on a well-deserved win.
Congratulations 🎉 ✨🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉
Congratulations on your Win!!!
Lovely poem.
Absolutely stunning! What a beautiful take on this challenge, and a clear winner. Beautiful job, Kate! Well done!
What an unconventional and exquisitely written piece of pure love. Congratulations.
Congratulations on the win! Well-earned.
Excellent poem. Congratulations on the WIN!!!
A beautiful nod to the love stories we can find in nature if we learn to listen. Lovely! Subscribed, and congratulations!
Very sweet and full of beautiful imagery. Congrats 😀