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Birds of Prey
| Open Poetry #33 |
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Birds of Prey |
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anwaarhassan Member
since 2003-07-09
Posts 181Menifee, CA 
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Birds of Prey As the sun rose early, over the hill All was calm and quiet and still, And in the valley, waters caressed The grassy banks of the river bed; And dewdrops glistened over leafy heads Like ocean pearls on oyster beds, And gentle willows bowed in prayer, To worship nature's wondrous care But high above, as dawn turned to day, Silently watching, perched the birds of prey Then in the calm and quiet and still, Came a cry of battle, over the hill And in the valley, from either side, They came on foot and horse astride, Deadly of purpose and deed in mind, They sallied forth their fate to find. Young and old and weak and strong, For plunder and pillage, all came along. As each side approached the other that day, Above, grew restless, the birds of prey Then within a stone's throw all stood still, And a deafening silence fell over the hill; One instant, each pondered if he’d know, Man from man, and friend from foe; But unbidden came the need to wrest All that which, the other possessed; The price of war would surely abate If victory, today, should be their fate. Man against man went to battle that day, So took to the air, the birds of prey. And over the hill, on this grassy field, Now rang the sound of sword on shield; And louder still, than one could bear, Cries of the fallen pierced the air; And yet unheard by those at hand, As each struggled to make a stand; Yet no one thought to yield the fight To those left standing still in sight. Fiercer grew the battle throughout the day And hovered, ever closer, the birds of prey. From early dawn and into the day The carnage couldn’t be held at bay Fear took hold of the meek and old As mercy fled from the young and bold And those that pillaged the fallen foe Were the plundered few of not long ago When no one there was left to stand The battle’s end was near at hand As the last succumbed to death that day Frenzied grew the feeding of the birds of prey And when the sun set over the hill All was calm and quiet and still And the waters now, sullied red, Lapped gently over the river bed; And weeping willows bowed in grief Over the river bank, seeking relief. The wind through many a leafy head, Mourned for the souls of the many dead. These spoils of war, would in time, decay, Left to nature’s will, by the birds of prey. And to this day, the tales are told Of battles and conquests and deeds bold; But what of pain and suffering wrought; We only revel in the victories sought. It seems our legacy will always remain Of death and destruction and endless pain For greed and avarice, so it's known, Man's worst enemy is man alone; And humanity is unique to mankind… I say, Vanquished only, by its own bird of prey. |
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| © Copyright 2004 Anwaar N. Hassan - All Rights Reserved | |||
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iliana Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434USA |
Anwaarhassan, I do so appreciate your writing; you are a fine poet and this speaks to your own humanity. You might like this one: /pip/Forum90/HTML/000399.html [This message has been edited by iliana (09-24-2004 12:04 AM).] |
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Mysteria 
since 2001-03-07
Posts 18328British Columbia, Canada |
Absolutely awesome! I fully enjoyed this tale, and although an age old complaint about mankind I loved your comparison to the birds of prey. Sadly this is all too true, "Man's worst enemy is man alone; And humanity is unique to mankind… I say, Vanquished only, by its own bird of prey." |
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anwaarhassan Member
since 2003-07-09
Posts 181Menifee, CA |
Hi Illiana and Mysteria, Thank you very much for your comments. Certainly appreciate it!! Illiana, The link you sent me does not seem to work. Anwaar |
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iliana Member Patricius
since 2003-12-05
Posts 13434USA |
Anwaar, thanks for trying....I fixed it and think it works now. |
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anwaarhassan Member
since 2003-07-09
Posts 181Menifee, CA |
Illiana, I just got through to the page. Posted my comments there... Anwaar |
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Midnitesun
since 2001-05-18
Posts 28647Gaia |
Thank you for this, Anwaar. You've written of mankind's frailty with great understanding. And your ending rings all the bells of truth. |
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Seymour Tabin Member Empyrean
since 1999-07-07
Posts 31720Tamarac Fla |
anwaarhassan Excellent write. |
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Toerag Member Ascendant
since 1999-07-29
Posts 5622Ala bam a |
One hell of a write old man...enjoyed |
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hoot_owl_rn Member Patricius
since 1999-07-05
Posts 10750Glen Hope, PA USA |
enjoyed this write and the words ring true  |
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passing shadows Member Empyrean
since 1999-08-26
Posts 45577displaced |
powerful write....your words are strong and wise |
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JamesMichael Member Empyrean
since 1999-11-16
Posts 33336Kapolei, Hawaii, USA |
Fantastic...James |
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anwaarhassan Member
since 2003-07-09
Posts 181Menifee, CA |
thank you all for your comments Anwaar |
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DavePage Member Elite
since 2003-12-21
Posts 2917 |
Talent is as talent does But only ravens read We take the words unto outselves And mentally we bleed. Really good write, quality Dave |
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Suetang Member Ascendant
since 2001-03-07
Posts 5187Melbourne, Australia |
Anwaar Your words spoke so many truths and were masterfully written. I was captivated from beginning to end. Thank you for sharing your immense talent. Take care.....Sue I am in motion |
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Larry C
since 2001-09-10
Posts 10286United States |
Anwaarhassan, Incredible insight and ability you have. An excellent write. Thank you for sharing your talent with us. If tears could build a stairway and memories a lane, I'd walk right up to heaven and bring you home again. |
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