Red Tailed Hawk
On the way to work I noticed a largebird by the side of Route 66. On a sudden impulse I pulledover. It was a large red tailed hawk decked in a gorgeous mane ofwhite and brown feathers. One inch claws clenched, his yellow eyesclosed, his body crumpled ….face down in the asphalt. Eighteenwheelers roared by, their backwash ruffling his feathers. Wearing workgloves I placed the hawk on the car floor, as I leave a young female red tailedhawk, glided by low, as if saying goodbye to her mate. Two more younghawks watched from the trees.
For the rest of the day I drovearound with his body. The only scent was the smell of fall leaves. Perhaps it was my imagination but I felt I heard the ever so faint whisper ofmy Native ancestors as I drove. Arriving home I gently placed hisbody in the shed, to keep the wandering dogs away.
Sunday night, when it was dark I lita bundle of desert sage and approached the hole I had earlier dug. I laid him in that shallow grave, chanting a sacred mantra….. as the nearlyfull moon rose directly overhead in the clear starlit sky. As faintwisps of sage smoke lingered, I played the wooden flute softly, then with mybare hands buried this beautiful creature.
Although I would have liked one ofhis tail feathers, I refrained, not wanting to desecrate his body.
My ancestors agreed…..
Swooping and gliding
Now buried near my garden
One day….my turn too
*Stephen W. Leslie has been writing haibun and haiku poetry for ten years. He has been published at Contemporary Haibun Online, The Himalayan Journal and World Haiku Review. He is a hospice chaplain in upstate New York and has a number of degrees which he uses in place of wallpaper.
Red Tailed Hawk was first published by Contemporary Haibun Online.