I've been thinking for days about several incidents involving hawks in my suburban neighborhood. The international student who lives with us described a hawk snatching up a mouse as she was walking home from the mall. My neighbor told me about a grisly incident in his yard when a hawk grabbed a squirrel, which got stuck in the chain-link fence, and the bird literally tore the poor animal in half. And we found the haunch of a rabbit on the sidewalk between my neighbor's and my yard, most likely the work of a hawk as well. Nature can be ruthless. My tanka could have fit with the "hunter/hunted" prompt from the other day (and I worked in a hawk/rabbit image into my "detective poem" that day too). The other poem was just a fun little exercise, kind of like that old folk tune "There's a Hole in the Bucket".
Cruel Tanka
By the
daffodils,
a hawk
catches a squirrel
and tears
out its throat.
Nature, I
love and hate you
for your
horror and beauty.
In Case of
Fire
In case of
fire, break glass.
In case of
glass, repair windows.
In case of
windows, hang curtains.
In case of
curtains, let in the sun.
In case of
sun, stay in the shade.
In case of
shade, trim back the trees.
In case of
trees, chop down for wood.
In case of
wood, build a fire.
In case of
fire, break glass.
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