Little Owls in the Olive Trees of the Castilian Plateau by Rose Mary Boehm

The nearby village promised revelry—
and there would be music, of course,
a neat paso doble perhaps and the Aserejé,
the 'ketchup song.' A little flamenco, a guitar,
there would be tortilla española, various tapas—
empanadas, bollo preñao, grilled chistorra,
and paella, wine and beer in abundance.
There would be laughter and loud voices,
boinas and walking sticks, home-made lace
offered for sale by the old lady with the big boobs,
there would be the caustic old farmer
who always sold the freshest veggies
at the same spot—right by the fountain.
Oh, yes, we were as willing as we were able,
it was the end of summer. Still warm.
Dusk and silence, except for the occasional
splash of a walnut bombarding the ground below,
except for the wood pigeon's hoarse cry,
still calling for her lover.
We locked the gate, brushed invisible fluff
off each other's jackets and started the old furgoneta.
We crossed the bridge over 'our' brook
and entered the dirt road leading through the olive groves.
A variety of suicide bombers splashed
onto the windscreen, even though we drove
oh. so. slowly. Suddenly, there, in the middle
of that old country track a tiny owlet, paralyzed,
its two big eyes reflecting our headlights like two
shiny disks in the almost dark of this Castilian evening.
After cutting the engine and opening the car doors,
we heard the soft ooh-hoos from Mum coming
through the dark from one of the gnarled olive trees.
I picked the owlet up, its small warm body so solid
and yet so vulnerable in my hands,
its heart speed beating in panic. The ooh-hoos
getting more frantic, there were gentle whistles.
I put the little guy down under one of the trees.

We suddenly craved the silence of a late summer night,
and I made a very careful 12-point turn.



A German-born UK national, Rose Mary Boehm lives and works in Lima, Peru. Author of two novels, eight poetry collections and one chapbook, her work has been widely published mostly by US poetry journals. A new full-length poetry collection is forthcoming in 2026/27. https://www.rose-mary-boehm-poet.com/