Napo 14

I had some trouble writing today. I have a headache, probably from dehydration from my long run this morning. I spent most of the day working on my column, also, which required some brain power. So I'm beat.
Today's prompt was to play with homophones or homographs. I decided to riff on the pray/prey. I want to do some more thinking on this idea, but here's what I have for now:

Prayer of Prey

Up in a palm tree,

A great horned owl

Returns to its nest

Of dying fronds.

My coming startles her,

And she drops her bounty

To the ground with a thump—

A headless dove, its neck

Bejeweled in red.

She flutters off into the sunset,

Leaving the treasure

At my feet.

I want to say a prayer

For prey. I want to say

A prayer for the hunter,

Hungry. But who to pray

To? Who created this awful

Lockstep of devouring

And being devoured?

My skin turns to gooseflesh

As I shovel the fresh kill

Over the fence. I can’t look

at so much red, a portal

to a question of who

could let such beauty

go to waste in the dust?