COOPER'S HAWK

looking out my window this morning
ready to settle at the table with my
first cup of morning coffee, fixating about
what I had not finished last night, just then
I saw a coopers hawk, small, taut, brown and
white, spotted chest, poised, stone-like
on a fence rail the length of my yard, its
short powerful wings, pliant by it's side
it's hellish yellow eyes, searching for
any signs of; even the subtlest of movement
that otherwise might not have been detected
it didn't take long for what happened next

i watched it all in wonder, forgetting about
the blank pages laid out before me, coming into
view a chipmunk scurried  along the yards
perimeter believing itself discreet hoping it was 
safe hidden beneath the brown decaying leaves
that had settled helter skelter, but the cooper's hawk
assumed otherwise, its plan coming to fruition
with a commanding stealth, razor precision
it rushed the pile of leaves and shot sky ward
just like that, leaving no wake, gone out of sight
before the disturbed leaves had any chance to settle back

by Michael Perry