Raptors

Author's Note

Raptors

Trefoiled arms,
Two of them,
One big,
One small,
Raise the grandest
Clamor of all!

Invisible above the clouds…
Bio-mechanoid raptor,
Technological Bird of Prey,
Just as fear-inducing in its way,
As the grand Owls of Athene
From Grecian Day.

Hiding in the Shadow of Night,
Or high in the atmosphere,
The Chopper and the Owl
Deal out Death…
A necessary service
They provide the Universe.

Catalysts of Equilibrium,
Arbiters of Balance,
Each serves its function.

The Owl checks the Meadow Mouse,
Hindering its destruction of sedges.
The Chopper checks power abroad,
Mitigating the Mundane – the oil dredges.

Each of Death’s Handmaidens,
Calls their constituents to queue,
Waiting to receive the lines
Of the impending Dead!

(02.23.98)

Reviews

[L.Edward]

Double-edged blade the old chopper, aye. Can be a rescuing angel or harbinger of death and destruction; sometimes its both. Powerful muse, well written.

[Russell Munroe]

thanks.
Yes the chopper can be both...and now drones or UAVs can serve Good or Evil, depending on subjective moral definitions. Also, depending on the degree of a subjective ecological perspective, the Owl can be both as well.

[Mother Maggie]

Wonderful imagery and very well written. I love how you compare the owl with the chopper. The last stanza creates vividly stark image. I can see the queues, victims of the owl and chopper, marching like armies to battle and death, stretching and fading into the distance on a vast stark plain.

Your work is amazingly beautiful.

[Russell Munroe]

Thank you.
Yes, the last stanza is quite heavy.