THE FIRE OWL
Australian folk law
Talks of a bird that lives in fire,
Yet never burns.
Warning of danger
Resembling an owl,
It knows death is drawing near.
Before a murder's done
The Fire Owl appears hopping
From foot to foot.
Along a burning log
The Fire Owl dances,
Warning of coming crimes.
Never hooting
It hops silently in fire,
Yet its meaning is known.
Ignoring the Fire Owl
Only leads to disaster,
Evil being done.
In the evening
The Fire Owl appears,
Then evil stalks the village.
Murders or rapes
Or other brutal crimes occur.
All are preordained.
So ignore the Fire Owl
At your own peril,
His warning is the truth
THE END
© Copyright 2021 Philip Roberts
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
About this poem
Australian folk law Talks of a bird that lives in fire, Yet never burns.
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Written on June 01, 2021
Submitted by PHIL_ROBERTS on June 03, 2021
Modified on April 25, 2023
- 36 sec read
- 7 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | XAX ABX CDX XXX DAX BAC DXX XAX BXX XXX |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 657 |
Words | 121 |
Stanzas | 10 |
Stanza Lengths | 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3, 3 |
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"THE FIRE OWL" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 13 May 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/101612/the-fire-owl>.
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