Mantling: When birds of prey hunch their shoulders and spread their wings over a kill to keep it hidden from other predators.
To a Hawk Mantling
It all comes down to this harrier hawk,
and a vision intense as the
smell of bleeding.
It comes to the rabbit under her wings,
a creature that moments ago
was breathing.
To spreading her robes of feather and bone
in a desperate attempt to hide
what she’s eating.
It comes to her hunger as primal as lust,
and to savagery that can
be deceiving.
It all comes down to this female hawk,
and a great horned owl that watches
her sleeping.
To a midnight moon that betrays the hawk,
and signals the owl to descend
for its feeding.
(After time spent at Sky Falconry in Alpine, CA.)
