A Bird came down the walk —
He did not know I saw —
He bit an Angleworm in halves
And ate the fellow, raw, …
In her poem, A Bird came down the walk, Emily Dickinson doesn’t mention what species of bird she saw devouring its wee prey, but I know the bird I saw engaged in a similar act this past Sunday.
I saw him as I talked on the phone with a friend. I pace as I talk and so I wandered from window to window on the 2nd floor of the house in which I live. At some point I paused to look out into the morning as people raced by with umbrellas for the coming rains. I was about to turn away, to resume my pacing. I almost didn’t look up. How close I came to missing the hawk atop the light pole, plucking at its prey. As he ate, the people below remained unaware of his presence and seemingly never noticed the few bits of fur and bone at their feet. The bird noticed them and he noticed me, cocking his head to stare, until he finally finished his meal. An unbelievable gaze to be sure. I’ve got some video footage that I may be able to share at some point, but meanwhile, here’s the gaze of another feathered fellow. He stared me down one day along the Charles River Esplanade.
Do you believe in animal totems? Well, the hawk would certainly be one of mine!
