The Images of Death

The hawk, the furred eagle, the smooth panther-

Images of desire and power, images of death,

These we adore and fear, these we need,

Move in the solitude of night or the tall sky,

Move with a strict grace to the one fulfilment:

The Greenland falcon, the beautiful one,

Lives on carrion and dives inevitably to the prey.

To be human is more difficult:

To be human is to know oneself, to hold the broken mirror,

To become aware of justice, truth, metcy,

To choose the difficult road, to aim

Crookedly, for the direct aim is failure,

To abandon the way of the hawk and the grey falcon.

These fall, and fall stupidly:

To be human is to fall, but not stupidly;

To suffer, but not for a simple end;

To choose, and know the penalty of choice;

To read the intensity of human eyes and features;

To know the intricacy of life and the value of death;

To remember the furred eagle and the smooth panther,

The images of death, and death's simplicity.