Hawk [A poem by Diana Adams]

Hook-nosed bandit, dazed

red shouldering the ledge.

His imprint still fresh

and oily on my window.

Huge wings strung wide

smack at the glass; a full breast

of feathers impresses in pane.

Glass is deceitful.

Now he watches -

black knives of wings

so still. Moon Drinker

A Real Mouse Eater, I'll take you

dress and undress in feathers, be your

slender hostess, breathe your rodent

breath. Maybe we could grow old

and not betray each other.

This a compelling inscape poem. The hawk's power comes across in terse, mostly monosyllabic phrases, handled with dramatic immediacy: "Huge wings strung wide/ smack at the glass". Note the skillful use of short lines, and the chilling suspense conveyed through enjambment: "Now he watches-/ black knives of wings/ so still". Up till the line "Glass is deceitful" the reader is held by the physical presence of the bird, but thereafter the perspective shifts onto the speaker's state of mind. The poem puzzles with its erotic implications, and the effect is enigmatic, disturbing. I am reminded of the poems of Hughes and Plath. I don't quite like "in pane" (is a pun intended? If so it distracts,), but otherwise this is impressive writing, tightly controlled.

Review by Lucy Newlyn

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