EAST OWL
. . . . she must speak to men in the language of men with a man’s tongue, and then they will not hear her because they understand her.
Ursula K. Le Guin, “While the Old Men Make Ready to Kill”
Aunt, I miss you. Not many here speak Woman.
Aunt, an owl keeps flying over me. She wants me to learn to sit still, hunt words. Wants me to focus, lock on. I’ve seen her dive for frogs, sit on a branch with a green leg dangling from her beak. I’ve found marks of her wings in the snow. I’ve found the blood of rabbit. I’ve heard her singing in the dark.
Aunt, my hills are covered with snow. The men still aren’t listening but the women keep singing for ourselves and our nieces. Aunt, we are learning to hunt. We are still learning to fly.
Mary F. C. Pratt
SourceLicence:CC BY-SA 3.0