Here in the welcome shade
of this autumn evening,
in quiet communion with
the silent, smiling Buddha
seated before my koi pond,
as its bamboo source
echoes his mantra,
 
an aging Cooper's hawk
feathers lightly atop
the icon's stony head,
its talons gracing softly
the dome of Buddha's
mindfully unaware crown
as the colors of the day
wash the water-colored scene.
 
Wearing a mottled crest
above weathered wings,
my guest sees all but eyes nothing—
neither prey nor foe nor me—
simply staring in silence,
its head pivoting now and
then, again, in search of nothing more
than this timeless moment,
here in my simple shrine
to all that life should be.
 
In due time all of nature
sighs as one and my guest
rises with a single stir,
soaring softly on whatever
last zephyr graces the day,
leaving only a brief ripple
to etch the pond's reflection,
where only this memory remains.


© by Randy Cadenhead.
Used with the author's permission.