A MAN AND A HAWK

A MAN AND A HAWK
Bird of prey, what can we say
except that you have no heart?
You kill creatures which are frail
just to satiate your own crop.

Yesterday, l saw you kill
linnets just near that green hill.
You ate them and left their blood
on your curved beak as a mark.

How can you feel happy when
you kill fledgelings for your chicks?
They are too small to escape
or to shun your vicious grip.

"You speak, man," says that big bird.
"You kill herds and eat their blood.
You kill for food and for fun,
and at times, your fellow men.
I kill just to stay alive
and feed my chicks which l love."
BY JOSEPH ZENIEH
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