Ecology

When I came back after a few days away
my return terrified a huge
marsh hawk
his new nest next to my front door
Twice that happened:
He explodes with a powerful shuffling
of feathers
aimed in a 45-degree angle that leads
to the sky above the sea
If I go away again
(big as he is)
I wonder which one of us will be
the more surprised?



June Jordan, “Ecology” from Directed by Desire: The Collected Poems of June Jordan, Copper Canyon Press. Copyright © Christopher D. Meyer, 2007. Reprinted by permission of the Frances Goldin Literary Agency.