The Hawk

[Verse 1]
I gave my love a feather
The feather of a hawk
I gave it without warning
I gave it without talk
With the sharpness of a vision
In the misty-eyed night
She placed it in an envelope
And tucked it out of sight

[Verse 2]
The bed of starched white linen
Folded to the floor
The sheets crumpled in anger
The quill will write no more
The sharpness of the shadows
In the misty-eyed dawn
The soft and downy nest in vain
For this bird had flown

[Verse 3]
The unspokеn glides
Upon the white-tippеd night
The feather was a warning
Of the other side of life
The shrill and piercing cry
The talons sharp and bright
The point of no return
Her shaft of silver light

[Verse 4]
And mist envelops form
Upon the forest floor
The hawk lies in anger
She will fly no more
Clutching a blue and speckled egg
Stillborn in flight
A feather in his winsome cap
An arrow in the night