The Sparrowhawk

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bukka

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The Sparrowhawk

Wings fluttering in the morning light,
the screeching of a sparrowhawk,
above the river mist, above chill water.
Its quarry, a duck quacking as it veers away
from grasping talons and sudden death.
The single instance of screeching and quacking,
then the silence of a thwarted kill,
the duck rapidly descending into the mist,
into the safety at the water's edge,
the hawk soaring up into the rising sun,
disappearing into blinding light,
the calm, stillness of morning returning.
 
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Pearl

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The Sparrowhawk

Wings fluttering in the morning light,
the screeching of a sparrowhawk,
above the river mist, above chill water.
Its quarry, a duck quacking as it veers away
from grasping talons and sudden death.
A single instance of screeching and quacking,
then the silence of a thwarted kill,
the duck rapidly descending into the mist,
into the safety at the water's edge,
the hawk soaring up into the rising sun,
disappearing into blinding light,
the calm, stillness of morning returning.
We sometimes get sparrowhawks in our garden.
 
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bukka

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They are an aggressive small, many times quite tiny, hawk. I find it amusing, Pearl, that they sometimes go after much bigger birds. One wonders at a certain point, how they would cope with much bigger prey. The sparrowhawk is ambitious, and sometimes it hankers for larger prey.

Thanks for liking my poem and have a wonderful day! :)
 

farouk

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The Sparrowhawk

Wings fluttering in the morning light,
the screeching of a sparrowhawk,
above the river mist, above chill water.
Its quarry, a duck quacking as it veers away
from grasping talons and sudden death.
A single instance of screeching and quacking,
then the silence of a thwarted kill,
the duck rapidly descending into the mist,
into the safety at the water's edge,
the hawk soaring up into the rising sun,
disappearing into blinding light,
the calm, stillness of morning returning.
@bukka All sorts of elements coming together there... :)
 
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icxn

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...The sparrowhawk is ambitious, and sometimes it hankers for larger prey....
There's a certain spiritual truth to this:

Thoughts of flattery in the morning light of our spiritual awakening,
the screeching of the sparrowhawk (demon) of vain ambition,
as it spots our ascent above the misty river of sin and the chilling water of insensitivity.
Its quarry, a soul quacking for help as it veers away
from this grasping passion and the sudden death of its sin.
A single instance of tempting thoughts and prayerful quacking,
then the silence of a thwarted assent to sin,
the soul rapidly descending into the recollections of past sins,
into the safety of humility at the water’s edge,
the hawk soaring up into the rising sun, Christ rising into our heart,
disappearing into the blinding light of spiritual discernment,
the calm, stillness of morning returning.

:)
 

bukka

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There's a certain spiritual truth to this:

Thoughts of flattery in the morning light of our spiritual awakening,
the screeching of the sparrowhawk (demon) of vain ambition,
as it spots our ascent above the misty river of sin and the chilling water of insensitivity.
Its quarry, a soul quacking for help as it veers away
from this grasping passion and the sudden death of its sin.
A single instance of tempting thoughts and prayerful quacking,
then the silence of a thwarted assent to sin,
the soul rapidly descending into the recollections of past sins,
into the safety of humility at the water’s edge,
the hawk soaring up into the rising sun, Christ rising into our heart,
disappearing into the blinding light of spiritual discernment,
the calm, stillness of morning returning.

:)

Thank you, icxn! That was wonderful! Thank you for sharing this with us! :)
 

bukka

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Yes, icxn! To God be the glory! It is not merely a sparrowhawk. There is more to the meaning of things in this world. The creatures can signify deeper meanings, as the mind imbued with God's Spirit, gives rise to their meaning. Thanks for bringing this up!
 
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icxn

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The scriptural saying, "if any man speak in an unknown tongue... let another interpret" (1 Corinthians 14:27) is true here. You spoke in nature's tongue and I merely interpreted:

Psalms 19:1-4
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.
Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,​
 

Pearl

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They are an aggressive small, many times quite tiny, hawk. I find it amusing, Pearl, that they sometimes go after much bigger birds. One wonders at a certain point, how they would cope with much bigger prey. The sparrowhawk is ambitious, and sometimes it hankers for larger prey.

Thanks for liking my poem and have a wonderful day! :)
upload_2020-6-9_19-10-54.jpeg

I wouldn't call them tiny or small though.
Length: 33cm - that's more than a foot high
Wingspan: 62cm - and more that two feet wingspan.
 
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Prayer Warrior

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They are an aggressive small, many times quite tiny, hawk. I find it amusing, Pearl, that they sometimes go after much bigger birds. One wonders at a certain point, how they would cope with much bigger prey. The sparrowhawk is ambitious, and sometimes it hankers for larger prey.

Thanks for liking my poem and have a wonderful day! :)
This makes me think of seemingly insignificant people in spiritual warfare...against powerful demonic forces. But even in our smallness, we can win over these powers because Jesus secured our victory when He rose from the dead.
 

bukka

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View attachment 9639

I wouldn't call them tiny or small though.
Length: 33cm - that's more than a foot high
Wingspan: 62cm - and more that two feet wingspan.

The American Sparrowhawk, or American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is slightly smaller than its British cousin, Pearl. It's 25-30 cm for its length and 60 cm for its wingspan. I've seen a number of them that are smaller.

That's a beautiful picture of a sparrowhawk, Pearl. Thanks for sharing it! :)
 
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farouk

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The American Sparrowhawk, or American Kestrel (Falco sparverius) is slightly smaller than its British cousin, Pearl. It's 25-30 cm for its length and 60 cm for its wingspan. I've seen a number of them that are smaller.

That's a beautiful picture of a sparrowhawk, Pearl. Thanks for sharing it! :)
@bukka Sometimes the same bird name on either side of the Atlantic actually refers to something somewhat different.
 

Pearl

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It sometimes does, farouk. The birds look similar to each other in Britain and in North America.
I like your avatar bukka. I once had a cat like that.
 

bukka

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I like your avatar bukka. I once had a cat like that.

It's a gentler avatar image, Pearl. I had a cat that reminded me of this avatar. It didn't have the same colors or markings. I do love cat and miss my last cat that died in 2015. Have a wonderful day! :)
 

Pearl

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It's a gentler avatar image, Pearl. I had a cat that reminded me of this avatar. It didn't have the same colors or markings. I do love cat and miss my last cat that died in 2015. Have a wonderful day! :)
I like cats too but my husband won't have another pet. Our cat which was similar to your avatar was called Brandy. I got her from the foundry at work when she was a kitten and thought she was black until all the foundry dirt started to come off on me. Ha ha.