The Veil of Mana

 

Moonlit walk.             I stop.

Horned owls,              I learn,

do not ask                   but say,

do not state                 but sing,

do not chant               but cast,

Like a charm,              their who.

Acknowledged            it works,

pokes me down           to half

of a bridge.                  This stream

must be where             he watched.

Occulted,                     I try

to mimic,                     summon.

Hoohoohóo                    hoohóo

No response.               Bright spots,

like beast eyes,            appear,

do not bloom.             Softly

keep trying,                 moveless

as I can.

                                    And if

he’d shown up             to fight,

his talons                     like drills,

I would know              no more

of magic                      than now

as I walk                      back home.