Five Ways of Looking at a Peregrine

I.

In a forest of leafless ash,

all that stirs

is the wind and a peregrine.



II.

The constellation that shimmered

when you were born

is as irretrievable as the peregrine's innocence.



III.

The peregrine's grace

is a measure of feathers

in a minor key.



IV.

Two lovers are more than the sum of themselves.

They promise to honor the unknown they'll engender

as they honor the peregrine roosting in the shadows.



V.

I do not know what to heed:

the hunger for silence,

the satiety of stillness,

or the merciful transience

of the peregrine.