“She had not known the weight until she felt the freedom.”
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Riding the thermals
Among the great
Mountain peaks,
A lone hawk soars,
It's sharp eyes trained
Upon the earth,
No doubt in search of
Some unwary creature
With which
To make a meal.
I wonder as I watch,
Does the hawk experience joy
In its flight?
Does it exult
In its freedom?
Probably not,
Though it would certainly
Feel its loss
Were it captured
And grounded;
For it,
Flight and freedom
Are unknowingly life-affirming,
A cornerstone
Of its existence,
An example of
Complex simplicity.
Oh to know such freedom!
What would it be like
To soar on a thermal
Among the peaks?
To simply soar
For the joy
Of flight?
c. 2024
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Reviews of "Soar"
Reviewed by Ronald Hull
Reviewed on April 28, 2024
If one looks into the eyes of a hawk, all one can see is the blank stare of super acuity that has only one purpose, to see prey from great distances and determine if they can be captured. Either to eat or to take to hungry chicks waiting back at the nest.
Hawks are alpha predators… Dinosaurs with wings. Although they seem to tenderly take care of their offspring, both mother and father, while soaring they are all business, either protecting their territory from rivals or hunting in the sky or on the ground the most vulnerable to catch and eat. Their service to their prey is to keep them evolving strategies to be alert for hawks and to avoid being caught unawares.
But for humans watching, going back as far as the Greeks, I believe with Icarus, Leonardo da Vinci's sketches and models of flying machines, and our 20th century invention of gliders and para-sails. Both making use of thermals and giving humans some of the experience of flying like hawks. When I first saw para surfing at Corpus Christi, I was amazed at how free those those brave souls were taking advantage of the wind to fly up over the water and on it with such ease and skill. Freedom is wonderful.
A well-constructed poem that taps into one of my favorite
dreams--flying without aid from an airplane or hang glider. Magic carpets are optional. Aim high!
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Hawks are alpha predators… Dinosaurs with wings. Although they seem to tenderly take care of their offspring, both mother and father, while soaring they are all business, either protecting their territory from rivals or hunting in the sky or on the ground the most vulnerable to catch and eat. Their service to their prey is to keep them evolving strategies to be alert for hawks and to avoid being caught unawares.
But for humans watching, going back as far as the Greeks, I believe with Icarus, Leonardo da Vinci's sketches and models of flying machines, and our 20th century invention of gliders and para-sails. Both making use of thermals and giving humans some of the experience of flying like hawks. When I first saw para surfing at Corpus Christi, I was amazed at how free those those brave souls were taking advantage of the wind to fly up over the water and on it with such ease and skill. Freedom is wonderful.
Ron
dreams--flying without aid from an airplane or hang glider. Magic carpets are optional. Aim high!