ODE TO A COOPERS HAWK
Come to me.
Come to me,
Winged celestial beauty.
Come to me with your notched
Mermaid tail,
Your silken roll of feathers.
Fly down into my hollowed-out soul,
Fill me with your sun-warmed glory
Nestle in my arms
And bring the curve of the horizon
Embraced in your outstretched wings.
I need no white bearded prophet,
No mumbled prayer, no gospel song
No hard church bench, no fast or
Festival to feel close to the Divine.
The glory of the universe,
Is embodied in your flight
As you tumble through heavens,
Ride the invisible thermals
Screech with joy at freedom
Fill your lungs with thin air
And play bumper car with an Eagle.
I, earthbound,
No hollowed bones to launch me,
Just tired soul weighed down,
No soft plumage feeling the course
Of wind through glossy feathers,
No hunting call to herald my presence.
Still,
My soul takes flight
The breeze lifts my spirit,
My eyes follow you,
And we will find that glory-
Transcend a sullen earth
Transcend a mean humanity
And soar together into the blue eye of God.
Jane Kohut-Bartels
Copyrighted, 2016
August 9, 2016 at 8:16 pm
Jane, this is gorgeous. Describing a bird as having a mermaid tail? Goodness, there could not be a more perfect line for me, as reader. LOVE.
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August 9, 2016 at 8:24 pm
Thank you! It was written under stress….but it turned out fine. There are probably some ‘mixed-metaphors’ throughout, but we don’t think about them when we are writing. L()L! They are beautiful birds, and for 2 decades I painted birds of prey (mostly) and can’t find my ONE painting of a cooper’s hawk. LOL! Thank you for reading and your lovely comment. I have missed the company of poets these last two years. Jane
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August 9, 2016 at 8:30 pm
Just lovely. We see red-tailed hawks and they always take my breath away. In SW American Indian lore hawk is the messenger. When we see one, they say we are supposed to stop and listen to see what the Great Spirit has to say to us.
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August 9, 2016 at 8:59 pm
Very true piece, and a beautiful bird!
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August 9, 2016 at 9:01 pm
What a good thing to do! Thank you for reading, Victoria, and your comment.
In Japanese culture, hawks are known to fly into Shinto Temples, so they must be bringing messages from the different Shinto Gods. I like to think of them as comrades with Tengus…also birds, but transforms into ‘Men”…with feathers and feet of birds! Hawks are known for generousness and heroism. It’s good to be back at d’verse.
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August 9, 2016 at 9:03 pm
Thank you! You can see the Mermaid tail. LOL!
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August 9, 2016 at 9:38 pm
This is beautiful!! Inspired π
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August 9, 2016 at 9:46 pm
Thank you!
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August 9, 2016 at 11:10 pm
This was a gem to read tonight Jane. Love the winged celestial beauty, and that ending lines, into the blue eye of God.
Great to see you again Jane.
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August 9, 2016 at 11:12 pm
Exquisite. Thanks!
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August 10, 2016 at 12:18 am
Thank you!
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August 10, 2016 at 12:18 am
And great to see you, Grace. Thank you for reading and your lovely comment. Jane
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August 10, 2016 at 12:44 am
I love the passion in this β and oh, what an ending: perfection!
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August 10, 2016 at 1:03 am
My favorite of yours yet, kiddo. Love the hawk, its flight, the human heart lifting up away from “mean humanity”……..so uplifting to read and imagine………….Loved every word and line.
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August 10, 2016 at 1:03 am
p.s. Have you read H is for Hawk????? A WONDERFUL read for anyone who loves birds.
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August 10, 2016 at 1:36 am
A red tail hawk came calling over the weekend. I was mesmerized by this creatures beauty. I have to love a poem about a hawk and this was so well written. Thank you for sharing!
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August 10, 2016 at 2:38 am
I never tire of seeing the Red-Tailed Hawks that frequent the area and hearing their screeching cry. I love the regal and majestic feel of this piece, Jane, and with the lore of Native Americans and the Japanese, its obvious that these are special birds. I’ve never seen a Coopers Hawk…very unusual markings on them.
Gayle ~
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August 10, 2016 at 4:25 am
Beautifully written! β€
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August 10, 2016 at 4:43 am
Jane, this is beautiful and profound. π I feel my soul is soaring to the skies…
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August 10, 2016 at 1:45 pm
Thank you, Maria. it came from a stressful time…arguing with a Baha’i. LOL! One thing I have finally learned…not to argue religion. LOL!
Thank you for reading and your lovely comment. I’ll be over this morning to your site.
Jane
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August 10, 2016 at 1:46 pm
Thank you, Josslyn. Good to be back at d’verse. I’ve missed the company of poets.
Jane
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August 10, 2016 at 1:47 pm
Hi Gayle! Thank you for reading and your comment. Yes, RTHs are all over this part (urban) of Atlanta…and they usually live for decades. I love them, but they are hard to fly. Big stubborn birds.
I’ll be over this morning to your site.
Thanks again…good to be back with poets.
Jane
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August 10, 2016 at 1:48 pm
Big beautiful birds….like a pit bull with wings!
Thank you for reading and your comment.
Jane
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August 10, 2016 at 1:49 pm
Haven’t….but it sounds good. Thanks, Sherry.
Hugs, Jane
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August 10, 2016 at 1:51 pm
Thank you, Sherry. One, it’s good to be back amongst poets. Two…this poem came from a struggle with a religious person. LOL! I am learning not to argue religion. LOL!
Yes, mean humanity. We both know that well. Thank you, always, Sherry, for reading and your comments. will be over to your site this am.
Hugs, Jane
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August 10, 2016 at 1:52 pm
Thank you, Rosemary. I’ve been gone from d’verse for two years? I have missed the company of poets desperately. Thank you for reading and your lovely comment.
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August 10, 2016 at 3:16 pm
You’re welcome! π
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August 10, 2016 at 7:29 pm
This reminded me of “The Cowboy Prayer” by Johnny Cash, especially the lines “I know that others find you in the light / That sifted down through tinted window panes / And yet I seem to feel you near tonight / In this dim, quiet starlight on the plains.”
Love your hawk picture, too.
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August 10, 2016 at 7:52 pm
Wonderful poem. Here on the east coast, various tribes also have the thoughts of a hawk being a messenger and to listen to it’s message. Every day I see red tail and yellow tail hawks riding the wind. The ending of this is just superb.
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August 10, 2016 at 10:30 pm
Thank you. It seems that most cultures have the hawk as a messenger of gods. In the east, where I was raised, the Leni-Lapae Indians had much of the same beliefs.
Jane
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August 10, 2016 at 10:31 pm
Linda, I’m not familiar with that Johnny Cash song. But you are and it sounds like a lovely song.
Thank you for reading.
Jane
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August 11, 2016 at 12:12 am
Jane, this is quite lovely.
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August 11, 2016 at 1:19 am
Hello, Ayala! A long time no see. Thank you for reading and your comment. I’ll be over tomorrow morning.
Hugs, Jane
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August 11, 2016 at 2:24 am
I didn’t know that they are stubborn birds, Jane. So nice to have you joining in with your wonderful offerings! βΊπ
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August 11, 2016 at 3:39 am
Oh, I’ve learned that before too. Better not argue religion. π You’re most welcome, Jane. Have a lovely day.
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August 11, 2016 at 10:24 am
Thank you! The joke is this: apprentice falconers are given a RTH to fly….peregrines, etc…are not. RTH are clumsy birds navigating dense forests because of their wing span. And ….they also are temperamental. (At least I found them to be so.) They will hang upside down on their perches and evoke sympathy. LOL.. I think they do this to annoy.
Jane…and it’s good to be back at d’verse.
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August 11, 2016 at 11:55 am
Hey Jane– a great soaring feel here! Declaratory in a flying way! Thanks. K.
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August 11, 2016 at 3:08 pm
Hi K. Glad you liked it. Also glad to be back amongst poets! Thanks for reading and your comment.
Jane
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August 11, 2016 at 4:55 pm
Oh my gosh…well you really do know those birds, Jane! That’s hilarious that they hang upside down…well, maybe not if you’re trying to get them to behave a certain way. Thanks for the info. π
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August 11, 2016 at 6:47 pm
Well, 20 years ago I was an apprentice falconer. Saw a lot of strange behavior in these very strange birds. There is a name for this behavior but I forget what it is. Some birds just like to hang upside down. They are happy doing so, and some , when they are flapping their wings and vocalizing (and they have a LOT of things to say in different languages) are just looking for your attention. Perhaps they are bored (the perch thing) or need something. I think they are very good at annoying. You can’t discipline a hawk by spanking it, putting it in the corner…..the relationship from falcon to falconer is born and based on positive reinforcement. But they are very intelligent beings. I gave up this apprenticeship because part of it was picking up road kill to feed the hawk. (not total diet…that was mostly dead baby chicks, etc) but also I had a toddler and I was afraid of transmitting some disease to him….and to me. I’ve had a cooper’s hawk fly onto my back porch and mantle over to a cat cage and then fly to the porch apex and look down at us. We also fed this fledging chicken from the crock pot, threw him/her a wing or drumstick, and she flew off…only to come back. I have seen her in the area for the past 8 years.
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August 13, 2016 at 4:33 pm
Jane an absolutely terrific poem. I love to watch birds with their wide wing-span take flight and ride the air thermals, gliding so free.
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August 13, 2016 at 5:04 pm
Me, too Sweetie! And thank you for reading “Ode”…..tell me about your kimono, PLEASE!! I make kimonos…..a few….by hand….and I am very interested in old ones…the workmanship is amazing. Is yours from Kyoto? I have been told that most of the kimonos that are imported, antique ones, are from Kyoto. ‘
Hugs, Jane
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August 13, 2016 at 5:53 pm
I’d love to see photos of your kimonos you make. I’ll post a photo of my Kimono with the obi sash tied on it next week. I’ll title my post “Kimono”
When my husband sent me it, and after I opened the box , beautifully wrapped I must add, it was folded in away that I couldn’t know what it could be. I actually thought it was an elaborate embroidered tablecloth…I was totally surprised when I pulled it out and saw that it was a kimono.
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August 13, 2016 at 11:42 pm
Oh, wonderful! I can imagine your confusion. A beautiful tablecloth is lovely, but so much better is a unexpected kimono!!! Yours sounds absolutely gorgeous. What a nice husband!
The word “shibari” means to tie a package…but of course, it has evolved into rope play: making beautiful and strange ‘objects’ of people tied with rope. Rather sculptural, and also, uncomfortable looking.
!
I have a few pictures that I will send you by email. One, in particular. I got the material at a quilting store….and it actually fit into a pattern. As you know, kimono widths in cloth are from 12 inches to 14 or so. So, the actual back is almost double that. It takes some arranging of patterns to met up, but sometimes you get a beautiful form. I’ll see if I can upload a pix here, too. This is the ‘quilt store’ material.
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