for Dave, since I said I would choose to be a hawk . . .




River Hawk

 

It seems each time I have crossed

This old bridge it was not in leaving

From here to there but into the light

That is the river, that is always both

Arrival and departure; rising into it

 

On a span of gray wings, the tips

Touching each shore, lifting me into

The soaring song the feathered wires

Sing, then silence above the sounds

Of water shifting shallow stones. 

 

This must be what the high hawk

Knows, this endless expanse of air,

The faint rush and hush of wings,

Feeling the whole earth turning and

Returning in the water and the light.

 





Poetry by countryfog
Read 1497 times
Written on 2015-11-21 at 15:21

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countryfog, greetings. It has been a while, but we see that you have recently logged in. Shortly we are going to send you a private message :>)
2021-05-16


Sameen The PoetBay support member heart!
Did you die?
2017-11-21



You made me become that hawk!
2017-08-29



'I miss countryfog, FT.' Coo looks sad.

'I know, dear Coo,' FT responds, stroking Coo's head, 'but at least we may revisit his poems from time to time and feel glad to have known him.'

'I suppose,' says Coo. 'And I do enjoy this poem "River Hawk" very much! It is so pleasant to read of birdlife and I love the exhilaration of flight, so well conveyed in the final verse.'

'As do I, Coo,' FT agrees. FT finds she tends to agree with Coo rather regularly these days. 'So let us applaud together.'

'Woo-hoo!' Coo cheers :>)
2016-11-15


Nils Teodor The PoetBay support member heart!
Your poem is true beauty
like a song in my heart

Thanks for sharing
N T
2016-04-03


Yanto
a lovely flight, thank you.
2015-12-27


Jamsbo Rockda The PoetBay support member heart!
I think we all have an animal that we admire and associate ourselves with in some way. And the hawk is a magnificent bird. Thank you so much for this. The last stanza tells us exactly why you hold the bird in high regard. There is not a child or adult in the world who has not dreamed of majestically soaring through the air.
2015-11-27



In my comment, sea = river. That's what I get for not reviewing my own comments. :)
2015-11-21



I believe Robinson Jeffers, an amazing poet, also used the hawk frequently in his poems.

I love the interweaving of the motion of the hawk and the motion of the sea and how they seem to dance together in your poem. And also the role that light plays in the drama of the hawk and the water.

Lovely.
2015-11-21


one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
The hawk is a recurring theme in your writing, and your appreciation of, and identification with, it always comes through in beautiful words and images. This poem seems broader than a hawk's wing, it is beautiful. This goes in the bookmark section.
2015-11-21


Nancy Sikora
Wonderful metaphor, the bridge as a soaring bird. I can definitely see it.
2015-11-21