Girl Who Efficiently Collects Light

Once she was owl eyes,
sharp at night, staring
straight ahead, searching

for prey. But she was not
the owl head rotating
almost upside down

or talons, tightly wrapped
around snake scales.
She had no feathers, no

flight. She could blink
and process light. Register
the memory of everything

around her – guide the brain
through woods.
She was the eye—wide

open, eerie yellow.
Witness with no means
to cry out in the dark.

~~~~~

Author Bio

Allison Wilkins is an Assistant Professor of English and Associate Editor of the James Dickey Review at Lynchburg College… More >

Joan Cannon says:

August 16, 2011 at 9:08 pm

Sorry–I can’t resist:
Who?
Kelly McQuain says:

August 21, 2011 at 7:48 pm

I like the use of enjambment here. Evocative.