The natural world has inspired poets for countless generations. It continues to exert a powerful effect. What can be more fascinating than the world in which we live and the way it operates? The downside is that there is a vast store of nature poetry that has been written through the centuries, and so the urge to find a new way into the theme is frustrated by the knowledge of all that has gone before.
Patrick Jacob’s approach in Silent Flight concentrates primarily on the face of the owl – not mentioned by species, but clearly shown to the reader – and remains focused on the head when attention shifts to consider the creature’s prey.