A Barred Owl

(album: Thirteen Ways To Look At Birds - 2019)

Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?

The warping night air having brought the boom
Of an owl's voice into her darkened room
We tell the wakened child that all she heard
Was an odd question from a forest bird
Asking of us, if rightly listened to
"Who cooks for you?" and then, "Who cooks for you?"

Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?

Words, which can make our terrors bravely clear
Can also thus domesticate a fear
And send a small child back to sleep at night
Not listening for the sound of stealthy flight
Or dreaming of some small thing in a claw
Borne up to some dark branch and eaten raw

Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?

Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?
Who cooks for you?