That piercing shrill tears my grounding.

It drives me deep into imagination,

my vision of that larger whole

where man and beast are one with life,

seeking solitude and oneness —

that deep expression of mystery and soul.

It pulls me out of my own smallness

and opens eternity, whole, within me.

You, Hawk, you majestic creature,

like a distant church bell ringing out,

you hold me prisoner in that moment.

Your KEE- EE breaks through the noise

of my daily distraction —

of any despair I may be harboring —

and opens up a sky of healing,

of earth, of my own deep longing.

Now, solidly planted on the earth,

No matter where I am or what I’m doing,

I stop. I listen. I praise.

I bless the oneness that we share –

the mystery of our life and longing,

the mystery that opens that divide between us,

and for that moment,

makes us one.