A Publication of Humanities Tennessee

“Hawk Says Finally”

Book Excerpt: The Intimacy of Spoons

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.

“Hawk Says Finally”

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, KansasFire 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.

You Might Also Like

“Rosewood Manor”

“Rosewood Manor”

"Mole"

"Mole"

"The Returning Dead"

"The Returning Dead"

To mark Memorial Day, Chapter 16 reprints Sewanee poet Wyatt Prunty’s memorable poem

TAKE THE SHORT READER SURVEY! CHAPTER 16 SURVEYOR SURVEYING