"Nighthawks "

"Nighthawks"

Greg  Budig  2020

Slicing the air.

Pointed wings on 

a western twilight.

Atmospheric echoes 

of a faint distant voice.

Far above I finally see you,

white banded wings 

brushing the sky. 

The nighthawks 

cry out above you. 

"Peeeent! Peeeent!"

they exclaim. Diving 

and twisting across 

newly starred skies.

Air rich with life,

an insect buffet. 

Angled sharp wings.

Long guiding tails.

Acrobats changing 

direction at will.

 Wide gaping

mouths scooping 

 air as they feast.

Everything is alive. 

And then they dive.

Headlong, downward,

free falling into space. 

Wings cutting smoothly 

through currents of air. 

Soon pulling up, wings 

booming the atmosphere. 

Audibly bending the air.

Now they are gone. 

A different horizon 

has lured them. 

Soaring from view.

Leaving the sky 

for the bats,

the mosquitoes 

and the stars.

The End