brother hawk

i saw a great territorial bird
swoop over my head
it was banefully grey against the powdery blue sky
it reminded me of the first time I met
my wheedling brother hawk face to face
i was with my father
we had ventured out to a place we called the top of the world
my petite feet struggling to follow in his oversized steps
i clumsily tripped and scurried like a scared mouse trying to keep up and out of danger
when finally he stopped
i saw the fecundity of prairie woodland open up to the wide expanse of a glacier carved valley
a gentle river snaked it way through the green
it was dusk and a hush had fallen over creation
we stood looking out
each imagining his realm
when above my head I felt the quiet brush of wings
and the whir of feathers
Directly above us as though suspended in midair
the fierce hawk hovered
and as quick as I gasped a breath of air to bring life back to my paralyzed frame
he soared away
with his keen eye looking into my soul
crying,

“Your Face is so Beautiful, and the Sound of Your Words imparts intuitive wisdom. It is so long since this sparrow-hawk has had even a glimpse of water.”

my lion heart swelled in his accolade
and I straightened with a sudden courage and knowledge
my father smiled and said,
he mistook you for a mouse