Raptor

Corporate greed like
A white kite at the top of
The dead oak next door keeps
Balancing in the highest branches
Preying upon what most others cannot see.

I can hardly look away as it tears
Flesh off small creatures in
Long strips like pulling the tortilla off a burrito
It gulps them down and I watch bits of fur
Caught by the west wind drift away.

I’m in thrall as the head is
Pinched off first and swallowed whole
And finally white and pure in the
Morning sun it tosses back its
Head and swallows the thin tail
Its pinions flap.

With immaculate plump breast
And no trace of gore
The majestic raptor cleans its curved beak
Preens a bit and looks over the field
For what’s next.

Slack jawed with my binoculars I shudder
Feeling small and gray I scurry
Knowing exactly what its like to be eaten alive.

Copyright © 2016 Gayle Madison