Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Tuesday August 31, 2010 Hurt Hawks by Robinson Jeffers / One Shot Wednesday



Hurt Hawks

The broken pillar of the wing jags from the clotted
shoulder,
The wing trails like a banner in defeat,
No more to use the sky forever but live with famine
And pain a few days: cat nor coyote
Will shorten the week of waiting for death, there is game
without talons

He stands under the oak-bush and waits
The lame feet of salvation; at night he remembers freedom
And flies in a dream, the dawns ruin it.
He is strong and pain is worse to the strong, incapacity is
worse.
The curs of the day come and torment him
At distance, no one but death the redeemer will humble
that head,
The intrepid readiness, the terrible eyes.
The wild God of the world is sometimes merciful to those
That ask mercy, not often to the arrogant.
You do not know him, you communal people, or you have
forgotten him;
Intemperate and savage, the hawk remembers him;
Beautiful and wild, the hawks, and men that are dying
remember him.

I'd sooner, except the penalties, kill a man than a hawk;
but the great redtail
Had nothing left but unable misery
From the bone too shattered for mending, the wing that
trailed under his talons when he moved.
We had fed him six weeks, I gave him freedom,
He wandered over the foreland hill and returned in the
evening, asking for death,
Not like a beggar, still eyed with the old
Implacable arrogance. I gave him the lead gift in the
twilight.
What fell was relaxed,
Owl-downy, soft feminine feathers; but what
Soared: The fierce rush: the night-herons by the flooded
river cried fear at its rising
Before it was quite unsheathed from reality.
-- Robinson Jeffers

I wanted to share this poem with you, it is one of my favorites and never fails to touch my soul.



One Shot Wednesday -- Distant Horizons

Mesas rise above
The desert floor,
To survey distant horizons.
Dust devils dance on the wind.

http://oneshotpoetry.blogspot.com/

16 comments:

Ian Foster said...

Thank you for this, I have never come across this poem before but I have found it very moving.

Brian Miller said...

thanks for sharing the first...it is a very touching write...full of emotion...

i like yours as well...you paint quite the scene in so few words...i wonder what the mesas would say...nice one shot!

Helen said...

You brought Willow's photo to life with your Magpie! ... like you, I enjoy leaving my comment then going back to read what others had to say. Sometimes the comments are as enjoyable as the poems and prose!

signed...bkm said...

there is nothing more devastating the watching a great animal suffer - emotional and very well done...bkm

Dianne said...

The poem about the hawk made me cry... I literally hurt for injured animals... Seeing them like that hurts my heart... I once rescued (hopefully) a Red Shouldered Hawk (smaller than a Red Tail) from my yard. It didn't have the use of its legs... We think he ate a poisoned rodent as that will paralyze them. Even in his state he was such an amazing bird... I felt honored to have him in my hands. We took him to a wildlife rescue. I never called to see if he made it... I was afraid of the answer.

Beachanny said...

I haven't read Jeffers since I was in school. What a powerful piece! I enjoyed yours as well. In both I feel that country where you live and I know so well. Nostalgic for a solitary ride horseback out to the edge of a mesa. Thank you.
Gay

Monkey Man said...

What a beautiful and poingant poem. I was not familiar with Jeffers. Great style and emotion.

TALON said...

Both poems are beautiful. My heart hurt for the hawk so beautifully detailed in Jeffers's poem.

I love all the movement and life you have expressed in so few words.

Desert Rose said...

WONDERFUL! nothing is more touching then animals suffering,they break my heart..good topics you picked,great one shot! :)

Marshy said...

it was a beautiful piece so worth the share...thanks pete

Glynn said...

I love both poems -- but I especially like Distant Horizons. "Mesas rising" - beautiful.

Suz said...

Oh Annell, I wondered if you read my garden wench post about the injured Canada Goose that came to my deck...almost severed wing...I'm still crying about it..Nice to know a poet has captured how I feel
And your poem was amazing...
painting with words...leaving a lingering thought

Bubba said...

Well done, Annell... er, I mean Robinson! (LOL!)

Good stuff! Thanks for sharing this one with everyone, Annell.

moondustwriter said...

It is touching. I hate to see a creature wait for death - you can see it in their eyes; once free now relegated to waiting

but then that is the plight of man as well

thanks for sharing with One Shot

moon Smiles

Claudia said...

thanks for two wonderful touching poems!

PattiKen said...

The Jeffers poem brought tears to my eyes. Thank you for sharing it.

Your piece about the mesas is lovely. Every time I visit the high desert of New Mexico, the urge to paint comes over me. I haven't painted in many years, but the colors and vistas of that landscape just beg for it. You did a wonderful job painting it with your words.

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