Ode to the Whip-poor-will: When Darkness Falls
September 4, 2015
As a small child living in rural Massachusetts on summer nights, I would fall asleep to the call of the Eastern Whip-poor-will. When Darkness Falls is my ode to the climate change endangered Whip-poor-will…
When darkness falls
And the night is still,
I think of the lonely Whip-poor-will
Who calls his name out
To the night
Like longing plea to end his plight.
Yet who’s to say his cry be right
For he alone does know his cry
What voice he speak
I only can try
To listen deeply in the still
To know what be the Mighty will
And yet I long to hear
His mournful plea
To answer yet the plea
Of mine own heart
When darkness falls
And the night is still
I think of the lonely Whip-poor-will.
~ © Pamela Leavey
From Audubon on the Eastern Whip-poor-will:
The Eastern Whip-poor-will is strictly nocturnal and stays hidden for the most of the day, only coming out in the evening to forage for insects. It’s most active in the dim light of dawn and dusk, but may continue foraging all night if the moon is bright enough. During the breeding season, it lays its eggs directly on the forest floor, where the parents take turns incubating them. Mostly a solitary creature, the bird spends most of its resting time perched motionless and alone in low-hanging branches.
