I heard the owl calling, Softly as the night was falling. He asked a question and I replied, But now he's gone across the borderline. He's gone away, like yesterday. And now I find myself on the mountainside, Where the rivers change direction Across the Great Divide. --Kate Wolf, "Across the Great Divide" Many Native people believe that at the hour of death, they will hear an owl calling out their name. There are variations of this belief, such as of the Apache, who believe that dreaming of an owl means that your death is imminent. Or the Navajo, who believe that the owl has the power to foretell the future. During my second winter after moving to Tucson, Arizona, I was delighted to discover that a Great Horned Owl had taken up residence in the palm tree in my yard. Every evening at sundown, he would entertain me with his eerie and poignant "hoooo hooooo" calls. Occasionally, I was lucky enough to see him swoop down to the desert floor on his silent wings and snatch a rodent for dinner. Each time, I would think of the Native belief, and perhaps of Kate Wolf's beautiful and heartbreaking lyrics (written as she herself was dying of leukemia), and couldn't help but listen for the call of my name. So far, I haven't heard it. But then something happened that I cannot explain. An elderly neighbor died suddenly during the night. A few days later, his wife, her voice breaking and her eyes flickering with the light of the distant sunset, told me that before retiring that night, her husband had asked her if she'd heard the owl. "He called my name," he said. Not knowing of the Native belief, she laughed it off. I don't know why she chose to tell me the story. But something connected her to me. Something led her to me, so that the owl belief could pass to her. I took her hands in mine and gently told her of the owl's connection to death. She smiled wistfully. "That explains it, then," she said. Here's Nanci Griffith singing "Across the Great Divide" ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6R3ASEOWas&
I don't know what to say about this one Cali'... Except I think Kate's lyrics point to the idea that death isn't the ultimate finality we might think it is. ZW
There's a western song with the lyric 'old cowboy cross the great divide', but I can't find it on YouTube. Maybe Ian Tyson performed it? Watch out for them owls. And if there's a seven foot high angel shows up beside your bed, check your heart and see if its beating...
I've heard stories like this over the years too, Caliente. I think your friend was drawn to you because you're more sensitive than most. Nice video of Nanci Griffith, too.
I heard the owl calling my name But our sines were all tied up, it was just a game Margaret thatcher walked in, "Yo, this story is lame" I'd rather run around with a dildo And start fucking some dames Freedom of speech Is a blessedly accursed thing I'm more like the thirteenth chicken Who isn't hungry For its own wing I heard the owl calling And now its time to fly Fucking hell, i'm not here to torture I say we amplify
