The Meteor Shower

2:35 am and not sleeping,
but headed outside with hope of seeing the meteor shower
all lights off... it's dark, really dark...
clouds abound without a star in sight
one can feel alone in the black darkness of the night...
as I turn to come back in an owl calls from the tree line
very close, hair on my neck rises, feeling the call in my chest
like a grouse during mating season...
vibration, energy...I am here... he says... I am here!
so I answer him with my Polish owl call and he answers back...
and again, and again
for the next 15 minutes we engage in a call and response conversation
he leads... I follow...
as I begin to become hoarse from my calls it ends...
I look up one last time to see a clearing, some stars
and yes, one shooting meteor flashes across the opening...
the clouds inch back in and I am off to restless sleep again,
hoping for dreams of owls...