On my weekly route
these last few autumn weeks
I have noticed the red-tailed hawks.
Long have I noticed red-tailed hawks
sitting on fence posts
or dipping overhead.
But not as many as this.
In a 25-mile stretch,
23 one day.
13 another
(but I had decided it wasn’t safe to drive
and keep track of them
on the other side of the road too.)
Sitting atop the posts,
facing into the strong southern wind.
Magnificent in their strength
and silence.
Perhaps waiting for rodents.
If so many hawks are sitting on fence posts,
waiting,
I wonder if there are not many rodents.
Then,
two nights in a row,
just as night has covered us completely,
I’ve heard screeching
in my yard.
It took me a moment
to recognize the call,
so close,
of a screech owl.
Haven’t heard screech owls here
since I moved back.
Native American wisdom teaches
to listen to the animals.
And so I’m paying attention.
To Owl and Hawk.
I feel befriended
by a wise seer,
enabling me,
like Hawk,
to stand on a fence post,
watching,
facing into the wind,
ready.
