The Vulture

The vulture gracefully

descends, his body bisects the sun

he wheels, riding the thermals

like air, he slowly descends

his shadow over the little town

briefly it slides over the roofs

the roads, the bare heads

below, unaware

they’d so briefly slipped

into his dark;

I hide from him, from the sun

from the air, slowly descending

his shadow slips so

easily, over everything

like a shroud but

I don’t want his dark to

fall over me.

Reviews

[John the Baptist]

I can think of no other identity for the vulture than death. The bird is generally thought of in connection with death, though more as a scavenger than a predator. The imagery, though, points to my conclusion. A shadow is mentioned, one that touches all below. Toward the end, the shadow is likened to a shroud. The speaker voices his own fear of the bird, symbol of the universal fear of death. There are a number of turkey buzzards that inhabit the trees behind my home. I will never look at them the same.

[JR]

I like to watch those turkey vultures riding the thermals... they look so graceful.

[R.E. Ray]

We have many vultures in this area and they're often hit by cars and trucks because they stay too long on a carcass. I'm also reminded of a few times when I was training for races, usually on a 10-15 training run in the south Georgia heat, and I'd see the damn things following me. I often joked, telling my wife if I died she'd never find me. The vultures would devour me before she realized I was dead.

This poem has a sharp contrast of beauty and ugliness, light and dark, much like life itself. The vulture, like the raven and crow, have acquired mostly bad reputations. People seem to associate them with death. You've offered two sides in this poem. They're beautiful creatures in the sky, but up close and too close to us, we see their storied ugliness. Another good write, JR.

[JR]

Thanks! There are a ton of vultures around here, and I have a great vantage point to watch them eating stuff on the main road. Something that struck me... they are smart enough to know which direction to watch for traffic, and get out of the way of cars (for the most part). They are ugly creatures, but the way they fly is so effortless and beautiful... it is a real contradiction.