Student Poem Analysis

The ocean fog

Is like a great gray owl,

Swooping in from the sea

On silent wings,

Enveloping the shoreline.

In the evening,

After the sun goes down

And the moon rises over the ocean,

The owl awakens

Far offshore.

It glides toward the coast,

Slowly, steadily,

Creeping closer and closer

As the night draws on.

Its gray wings drift

Over the kelp beds

And over the beaches,

Spreading silence.

When the sun rises

Over the horizon,

It shines in vain;

For the silent owl,

Coming in by night,

Has spread its gray wings

Over the shoreline,

Clinging to the sea,

Blanketing the forests,

Wrapping around the mountains.

The owl spreads a curious silence

Across the coast,

And casts the new day into

A murky twilight.

As the morning drags on,

The sun finally gathers its strength

And drives the silent owl away.

I enjoy this poem because of its thoughtful use of descriptive language. It doesn’t overuse it, like in many poems, but instead gives us subtle tones and a variety of language in order to create an image in your head that flows throughout the poem like a short movie. This is emphasized by using techniques like alliteration, and repetition. The author tricks our minds into focusing solely on the owl by using a variety of language, but using the word owl a considerable amount.

            For me the essence of the poem lies in the background of the poem. Not really the owl, but the beautifully described background. The poem really gives you an idea of the owl passing a landscape with forests, mountains, and the time of day passing with a sun-rising, a murky twilight and an owl rising out of the night.