The Grey Goshawk
Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis 1876 (Auburn) – 1938 (Melbourne)
There is a flutter in the trees,
And now a sudden, dread unease
Stills all the bushland melodies
Amid the gums;
Stills now the song of wren and thrush,
Robin and honeyeater hush.
Now, with a swoop, a whistling rush,
Grey goshawk comes.
I am the threat: the dread king.
Grim Azrael, is on the wing,
And every little living thing
Dares scarce a breath.
And now a parrot, shrill with fear,
Flies dodging there and doubling here
Thro' inlaced limbs, in mad career
From lusting death.
Grey ghost, grey death, I work my will
O'er forest dense, o'er wood hill,
And on some tree-top rend my kill
With reddened beak.
There is no have in the tree,
There is no habor safe from me;
In many a singing sanctuary
My meat I seek.
Beware! The swift grey ghost is out!
Be still! Grey death lurks near about!
Crouch close! Shrink low! ... But have no doubt
I've marked my kill.
Grim nemesis. I never fail;
Gaint hunger is my spur, my flail.
I feast. And now away I sail
O'er the far hill.
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Submitted on May 13, 2011
Modified on March 05, 2023
- 56 sec read
- 77 Views
Quick analysis:
Scheme | AAABCCCB DDDEFXFE GGGHIIIH JJJGKKKG |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic tetrameter |
Characters | 950 |
Words | 185 |
Stanzas | 4 |
Stanza Lengths | 8, 8, 8, 8 |
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"The Grey Goshawk" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 10 Jun 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/6660/the-grey-goshawk>.
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