Nature

I always thought, to get their prey,
Raptors swooped down, diving;
Silently and sneakily
Announcing their arriving.

But just today, I saw a hawk
Float down in slow descent,
Looking like a parachute
Whose airtime had been spent.

It gently landed on the ground,
Its talons set to grasp
The mouse which, snatched, in its surprise,
Had barely time to gasp.

I watched that mousy mouthful
As the hawk chomped and devoured,
And wondered, as it ate,
If hunting made it feel empowered.

Or was its prey equivalent
To stopping at the store?
A means to fill the belly,
A simple must-do chore?

I guess there is no way to know,
But Nature has provided
Each creature with the means to feed
'Til hunger has subsided

I'm glad that I don't have to hunt
Except in market aisles,
Though I admire hawks and such
Their Nature-programmed styles.