Along Buchanan Park,
While on my morning walk,
I was startled by a dark
And fleeting shape. A hawk

Swooped by to perch atop
A utility pole.
Attentively, I stopped
To contemplate this bold

Raptor survey his domain.
His acute eyes held sway
Over the park's terrain
Searching for his prey.

So it was before
Parks, utility poles,
Before houses, and stores,
And lawns, and farms, and roads.

The hawk's still stare reminds me
That time transcends mere history.

Christopher Brooks, April 2004