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A Hawk Is Not a Rabbit

Text of Poem

He got the message!
A birthday gift from his son
(and daughter-in-law) who
kept his house, a certificate
for a corner room in
Retirement Manor.

He tramped out to the garden,
whacked off a few dry heads
with his cane, sat on his campstool
and stared at the landscape.
It stared back. He tore the
certificate to shreds and poked
the pieces into the dirt.

His wispy white hair stood up
in a challenging crest,
his hands trembled as anger
stiffened to pride, never a hawk
to be trapped like a rabbit.

First Line
He got the message!
Original Pub Location
Original Publication Date
1978
Original Citation
Colorado Quarterly 27 (Autumn 1978) 23.
Complete Poems
351
Word Count
92
Poetic Form
open
Themes