It was a very dark evening

low clouds hugging the ground

soaking everything

damping down all noise

no traffic on the street

everybody was hunkered down for the night

the silence was almost total

stepping outside to put the trash out

my footsteps were deafening

something compelled me to remain outside a moment longer

suddenly an owl hooted

hoohoo hooooooo

another owl hooted back

hooooo hoo hoo ho

long and short hoots in bursts

morse code of the night forrest

potential prey staying silent

not wanting to attract attention

leaving the owls center stage

no moonlight or twinkling stars above

eternal blackness and cold damp silence 

a perfect night for long range nocturnal raptor chatter

back inside the TV was blaring

imported artificial noise felt lame

turning off the TV and all the lights

listening intensely in the dark silence 

a faint hoot beckoned me to open a window

owl banter flooded the room

hoooo hoo hoo hoooo hoo

more entertaining than a Netflix script

but I wondered what they were saying

staring at the TV remote

fantasizing there might be an owl subtitles button

they kept hooting all night

hooooooo hoohoo hoo hoo