Hawk in the Rain

I drown in the well of your flight. The talent of killing, An ultimate feathered spear. How you move through the bleak skies, The cleft of wind, The primal silence of your pulse. The trees below, the stiff bodies, They fade into a whisper, the pulse of life Under your hawkish vision, Starling and thrush retreat from your fangs— The cold kiss of shadow falls, and drops… Above all, a haunting strength in your heart.

You will never yield, You route a force, that frightens men. Utter silence in your wake like a sharp horn, In the purity of the rain, I see you, lone king in the grey.

Look up! Beneath your fierce eyes, The expanse spreads wide, transcending the cliff, Without your ensuing flight.

• Ted Hughes