Mountain Meaning I - Prayer of the Hawk

I sit under the trees Later My neighbor said “I enjoyed watching you pray.” “What do you mean?” “You sat there so still Head tilted up for a very long time.” “I suppose so But actually I was entranced By the crowns of the Oaks sweeping the sky And that Cooper’s Hawk nest along for the ride Swaying basket beneath a parachute “A Fledgling teetering on the edge “Doesn’t fly at first Thinks Then falls head first “Batting tree trunks Talons raking the bark Crushing the branches in a humiliating commotion Leaves ripped away “Tumbling upside down Wings hoisted half way to the planet Then like magic The bird fastens To something close to the harness of an orbit “Latches upright to a branch Shakes its head Furrows its brow Eyes narrow to stirrings on the green mezzanine Below “Just like that A Hawk reincarnated by hunger.” “But I saw your hands clasped.” She says. “Instincts, I guess.”