He drifts from dusts of twilight sifted there On boughs as silent as his careful wings; A shadow through the shadows of the air, He nears the tops of drowsy grass, and clings To one slow circle, then is borne away As if on spreading circles of the dark ... I have not seen him dart upon his prey -- But cries I heard when talons pierced their mark. Sharp pain that shook the peace of coming night With what a little sound! That I have heard And still must hear beneath the taloned flight -- Articulate ... and vain ... as any word, The very echo sinking, edged and thin, Deep into darkness where all flesh is kin! | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...CEREMONIES FOR CHRISTMAS (1) by ROBERT HERRICK THE FOUR ZOAS: NIGHTS THE THIRD AND FOURTH by WILLIAM BLAKE ON READING THAT THE REBUILDING OF YPRES APPROACHED COMPLETION by EDMUND CHARLES BLUNDEN IN VINCULIS; SONNETS WRITTEN IN AN IRISH PRISON: FAREWELL DARK by WILFRID SCAWEN BLUNT |