Hawk Says Finally
Once in the gap between hills
Hawk hovered against
hard blue sky for so long —
no twitch no strain each
muscle twining with wind
red tail coppering the sun —
the blustering air turned
Hawk into a cluster of stars
a sudden constellation
outshining Orion and Bear
a new god to kneel to
in song and prayer.
Excerpted from The Intimacy of Spoons (Madville Publishing). Copyright © 2024. Reprinted with permission. All rights reserved. Jim Minick is the author or editor of eight books, including Without Warning: The Tornado of Udall, Kansas, Fire Is Your Water, and The Blueberry Years: A Memoir of Farm and Family. His work has appeared in The New York Times, Poets & Writers, Oxford American, Orion, Shenandoah, Appalachian Journal, Wind, and The Sun. He serves as coeditor of Pine Mountain Sand & Gravel.
Tagged: 2024 Southern Festival of Books, Book Excerpt, Poetry
