The poetry of Marci B.

• Sitting in a tree
By Marci B.

Sitting in a tree all beautiful and proud.
Your delicately marked feathers barely flutter in the wind.
Gazing far below at any sign of movement
The next prey moves slowly and unaware of your presence.
How are you to know the fatal drip of that meal?
A tiny, but deadly vector will cause your bloom to fade.

Enjoy, oh beautiful bird.
We gaze upon your greatness.
The evening comes so quickly
No longer must you sit and wait to swoop upon the prey.
Go now, in that quiet rush, on swift wings to your destiny.

• Magnificent
By Marci B

Today we learned of your death and how you suffered in silence
When all around, with kind hearts, searched and hoped for a cure.
You were beautiful in all your glory
Doing what comes naturally...gliding, hanging, and swooping on the movement
below.

With glorious patterned wings outspread, and the beauty of your body
We marveled at this wonder of raptors.
Yet, the scourge of the virus did what nothing else could.

You suffered in silence and fell hopelessly below.
We praise your beauty and your life.
We thank God for eyes to have seen.
The wondrous bird of prey...a Cooper's Hawk.

• The Circle
By Marci B

I have uttered these words unashamedly: "I hate cats." Yet at the sight of the broken body, lost to man's machine, I shed a tear.

With great intent, I have tried to chase away the little critters that looked like rats.
But, their feet were white and noses pink, and I wonder where they have gone.

The mere thought of a snake repulses. Remember the black and orange snake lying motionless on the expressway. I wondered where it was going as it made that fatal move.

Then there are those pesky, bushy-tailed squirrels ripping down feeders one after another.
Yet, watching them hold and munch a morsel or a seed is a fascinating sight to behold.

The hawk hunted in my yard, and I was ready to chase it far and wide. But now, a raptor will hunt no more. Remorse is overwhelming and numbing.

First, the fluffy, downy bottomless pit
Eagerly awaiting the next juicy morsel.
Then the fledgling flying unsteady and with great caution.
Finally, the beautifully marked raptor of prey with the freedom of flight.

What's this you say, the cats, rats, snakes, and squirrels?
A Cooper's Hawk brought it all together...The Circle.
We are all connected one with another..humans, beasts, and all the rest.
The fallen raptor--Accipiter cooperii.
The circle of life continues.

Support our wildlife...
Marci