Raptor

by Jill McCabe Johnson

Today in a flutter of leaves
a sharp-shinned hawk balanced
with one leg tucked under
his freckle-feathered chest
on a fence post
at the edge of our garden.

To get a closer look
I crawled through the living
room and onto the porch
crept to the ledge
and quietly lifted my head.

The hawk turned
razor eyes toward mine
with a gaze that sliced
open wonder
and startled that other
wild bird flapping
against the fenced cage
of my chest.

“Raptor” was originally published in Page & Spine.

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