Owls - The Handsome Family

The blue house at the corner of Twilight and State

Four storeys, soaring turrets, floors of wood parquet

And owls, so many owls, snowy, horned and screech

Thousands of owls, all flapping their wings

How I love the marble staircase, the claw-footed tubs

The room of rare orchids, the glass hall for my guns

Statues of pharaohs, 20 feet tall, crystal chandeliers, rare paintings of clowns

But the owls, so many owls, I’m never alone

The owls make this blue house a home

How peaceful it is to watch them soar

Through the palm-tree ballroom with its gold-paneled doors

And as I sit by the fire and slip off my boots

They perch on harpoons and the stuffed heads of moose

The apothecary closet is lined with shelves

But deeper than expected and slanted as well

How long have I been here searching for my pills

As the ceiling grows upward and the walls start to swell

Oh, the owls, the owls, with their feathers of silk

The owls they mock me and have stolen my pills

Oh the owls, the owls, with their shining green eyes

The owls will save me, if not today then tonight