Natural World
…………… 1.
The earth is almost round. The seas
are curved and hug the earth, both
ends are crowned with ice.
The great Blue Whale swims near
this ice, his heart is warm
and weighs two thousand pounds,
his tongue weights twice as much;
he weighs one hundred tons.
There are so few of him left
he often can’t find a mate;
he drags his six-foot sex
through icy waters,
flukes spread crashing.
His brain is large enough
for a man to sleep in.
…………… 2.
On Hawk Mountain in Pennsylvania
thousand upon thousands
upon thousands of hawks in migration
have been slaughtered for pleasure.
Drawn North and South in Spring and Fall:
Merlin and Kestrel, Peregrine, Gyrfalcon,
Marsh Hawk, Red-tailed, Sharp-tailed,
Sharp-shinned, Swainson’s Hawk,
Golden eagle and Osprey
slaughtered for pleasure.
by Jim Harrison
from Selected and New Poems
Delacorte Press, 1982