Hawk Shadows

David Rice, Dragonfest 1994

Sometimes a Hawk
   will fly close to the ground
when the weight of her past
   to the Earth keeps her bound.

The safety of surface
   that comes after a fall
may silence her answer
   when lofty heights call.

The shadow she casts
   is the pattern well known
with memories of
   past skies she has flown.

But greater by far
   are the choices she's face
if she'd take to the wing
   and the clouds she'd embrace.

The nature of the Hawk is to soar!