Beauty

Running as fast as I can heart pounding I can feel his wings beating by the wind swirling around me my lynx instincts are alive as I try to escape this hungry bird but I’m no match for his cunning speed or strength My breath rasping and out of energy I know I’ve lost this race as his claws slice through my body I am his to devour hidden wide eyes peer through leaves and branches at the raptor who tears me apart with wild abandon They watch as his razor sharp beak pierces my chest and rips out my heart tearing it to pieces between beak and talons only to drop it on the ground unwanted Watchful hidden eyes stare at the bird as he takes to the sky with his prize carrying what’s left of me away gripped in talons to his feeding place and they gaze at my heart in tatters on the ground Spring turns to Summer days of blistering heat that dry everything turning my heart into dust that disintegrates into the soil Summer turns to Autumn this place of dying lies buried under brightly colored layers Next comes Winter with its punishing winds and blankets of snow freezing the ground hardening the tiny pieces of my heart The raptor continues his never ending obsession of the hunt year in and year out though now he's after much younger more tender prey completely oblivious that a gentle sparrow dropped seeds that got stuck to his tiny feet as he fed amongst the grass and violets and landed where I died But in the pounding rain these seeds sank into the ground and were fertilized by the shredded remains of my unwanted heart torn apart so that one warm sunny day slowly through the lush green grass beautiful deep purple violets burst forth that sway gently in the wind making beauty out of devastation