The Common Loon Out of the mammal-shy fluttering flight of birds Under the moon . . . came hooting tunes and runes The calls of the common Loon. Slick feathered birds with snake necks And undulating pointed-beak duck heads They slice the night-dark waters with circles of sound. Calling, laughing, and coughing moon-mad croons Brittle mocking echos of Wolf songs, ghost songs, and spirit tunes On steel bodied lakes, at night . . . for unknown fowl reasons. Stephen Morse 1993