Mary Oliver: Hawk

     This poem had a way of bringing me into the entire scene of the hawk along the lake. I loved how she was able to see the beauty in the hawk describing it as, "admiral," and "this is not something of the red fire, this is heaven's fistful." I feel like certain animals in nature, especially predators, have a connotation as being mean or bad. Oliver is able to highlight on the power, intent, and freedom of the hawk as it soars on some unknown mission through the lake. You feel the tension of the piece as she describes the, "hawk hooked one exquisite foot onto the last twig to look deeper into the yellow reeds." It had this image of suspense as we watch the next move of the hawk. One line that stuck out to me was, "it cruised along the lake- all the time its eyes fastened harder than love on some unimportant rustling in the yellow reeds." The way she highlights his focuses being "harder than love" both shows the value of his mission and her belief of the power and strength of love. Overall, her colorful description allowed for a depiction of the glory that the hawk bestows on us while still remaining unknown in its nature.