Der Turmfalke

a windhover or kestrel

The weight inside a dive : muscles work against the wind.

Motionless ignore the reduced ; a quilt of cornfields,

the bleached boxes of barns, holes full of gravel and

the mess of houses and lanes. So when

the heat rises and the earth scatters : heed the hunter`s eyes,

the blue irises ; the terrible beauty of the last seconds, sinking.

Reviews

[Shmoke-Sifted Heftlande..]

I like how you can ignore the subject matter and this takes you within yourself...like I took "weight inside a dive" and my brain ran with it like a chipmunk scurrying for it's life.
I also like how the predatory movement itself kind of absorbs maybe a(n) (inverted?) euphemism for cold air shoving itself willfully towards earth and its target, because we all know heat rising is cold air shoving it out of the way...So yes, I'm seeing some fine clarity in the conscious movement and direction and the obvious imagery, but I feel like a little bugger on xmas morning and this poem's the tree and the hearth..I never had the latter growing up, so poem's like this will def do.

[Leslie Philibert]

Thanks for the review, which I liked a lot, intellgent and perceptive, one of the best I have ever read of my poems, the sort of good review that only a good writer
can put together !

[Rosalind Gale]

Yes, he is certainly a clever fellow, Mr L-S-S-H (think I did not notice?)

[Shmoke-Sifted Heftlander]

and I seem to recall trying to post a clever comment previous to this one, dang it. swallowed by the matrix I guess....derp...I was also swallowed by a spiderweb of glass at a young age and my feeble mind frequently overcompensates for that...really I'm just a normal guy with abnormal curiosities

[khalid]

very nicely penned..no one single word was missed..i like it

[Arabdha]

I love how you've brought in the many images that come to mind on reading this..! Really well written :)

[Pete Langley]

Surely one of the truly beautiful sights in nature, isn`t it, Les? The hold and stoop of a kestrel is fascinating to watch. Your piece conjures this well, but I think you missed an opportunity to build the drama of this ballet of life and death. I do hope this is helpful.P,

[Leslie Philibert]

You are right , I should put two or three lines in towards in the end, it reads a bit
uneasy, needs more space and time !

[Pete Langley]

I`m sure your addition will add to the impact. P

[Tree]

Fascinating description of those ''last seconds.'' There is much to learn from watching the nature of a bird of prey. Wonderful imagery, here.

[Valentine]

Interesting write..my mothers Jewish relatives were from Germany..lost many in WW2.
Part of the family stayed Jewish..our side did not..often wondered what Germany is like..Kathie

[Ken Simm.]

Mathew Hopkins and I like this very much. Have had two Kestrels in my time. This is a perfect description.

[Leslie Philibert]

Thanks for the kind words, a great complement from someone who knows more
about kestrels than I do. I discovered too there is a well known poem from Hopkins about them a few minutes ago. Thanks once again.

[Ken Simm.]

There is my painting of one of the Cully's in my photos if you would care to look. And my pleasure Leslie.