shaking away sleep
and patterns that haunt
I look to the sky
to the red-tailed hawk
who has been my companion
for years of sunrises
and foggy afternoons
he dips a greeting
as he wheels across dawn
and I mark his span
as welcoming as a lover’s embrace
somehow I breathe deeper
when I watch him soar
feeling myself not rooted
but flying too
The Word Rummager 