A moment can be enough

There is a place where I like to pause
on my evening walks.
A moss-covered mound that always
beckons me to stop.
So I do.

Tonight, responding to the invitation,
I lift my hands to the sky,
following the tree trunks pointing to the clouds,
and sing a line from a song
breaking the stillness around me.

"Create in me a clean heart, oh god"
I pause before continuing
and in that pause I'm gifted with a response -
two hoots from an owl. And again.
Close by, but I can't see it.

"Renew a steadfast spirit within me"
Another pause, another hoot,
this time from the other direction.
The branches of the western hemlock
and Douglas fir are all I see.

"To my prayers you've always given heed"
Finally I see one of the owls, but only
because it takes off from its perch in the canopy
and heads to its companion.

There, I see both of them briefly.
Only for a moment.
But when you are paying attention,
a moment can be enough.
If you are gentle and careful,
it becomes a gift.

A gift I can share with you
through this rough attempt at a poem.
So I do.