Unexpected Visitor

The Boogie Down wildlife

It soars with grace,

sailing in the wind

over the tree tops below,

circling with its mate,

a pas de deux

in search of prey.

For days,

with windows open to the breeze,

I hear, hours at a time,

what, I assume, are

impatient calls for food

from a nest far below.

I envision chirping babies,

(or screeching eyasses?)

ready, with open beaks,

awaiting tasty morsels

scavenged

from the surrounds.

Hmmm….back to work!

Days later,

familiar bird song

reverberates nearby,

too close, too loud

to filter skyward

from the woods below.

Viola! Two feet away,

a feathered creature,

needled talons clutching

the terrace railing,

perches outside my window,

posing imperiously.

It lingers a while,

wind roughing its feathers,

calling its mate,

head swiveling while

surveying the land and

glaring cold-eyed at me.

I quietly record my visitor,

awaiting it to take flight,

unfold its wings

readying for takeoff.

But, its visit lasts longer

than my recording patience.

When finally taking its leave,

the peregrine’s great wingspan,

more then a yard wide,

propells it aloft,

displaying the speed and strength

of the ‘top gun’ of the skies.