Falconry by Sherry Hughes Beasley

Falconry
by
Sherry Hughes Beasley

The Homestead, Hot Springs, Virginia

2014

I named him Percy, a pet

name assigned to a creature I would

probably never see again.

But he was cute

and I did not fear too much

the bead eyes staring, the rooster-claw

beak, the inches-long talons that wrapped

the trainer's gloved index finger

like piercing blades.

We stood in the field six

feet apart, extended our arms

as instructed and, with a lift of the trainer's arm,

Percy flew off

high, higher into the cool spring air

then plunged toward us to pass

right under our arms precise and elegant

as fire and ice. Stunned,

we stared at his lazy loops as the trainer

let him have that joy, that bliss

his from birth.

Sherry Beasley is the award-winning author of four poetry chapbooks and her work has appeared in numerous literary journals. Founder and senior editor of Astounding Beauty Ruffian Press, she is also a professional designer and artisan. Sherry, a native Virginian, lives near the Blue Ridge mountains.

transitions:
I could see him,, feel him, the rush --- falcon vs 'air', and his piercing eye...fearless. Loved it ~
Posted 06/26/2015 11:35 AM

phebe.davidson@gmail.com:
The profound ambiguity at the heart of this one is stunning. The trainer/falcon etc. relationships nowhere near as simple as they appear at first reading!
Posted 06/26/2015 06:10 AM

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