PILGRAMAGE
When the peregrine
goes for the kill
it’s the fastest creature
on earth. On a column
of air it wobbles, wings
an upturned cradle
for the surge of sky.
Up there, a static speck
to the naked eye, its eye
is faultless, unwavering
the world condensed
to a single atom, a collapsed star
in its pupil, a heartbeat
resting on a spire of light. Now
the sudden tilt into flight—
wings pinned to its sides
it opens up to gravity and sightline
utterly still
while at 240 mph it plummets
through a hollow
disappearing in a flurry
on the ground, not even
a shriek in the rush
of silence that follows.
Author’s Bio
Sharon Black is from Glasgow in Scotland, but now lives in the Cévennes mountains of France. In 2017 she won the Poets and Players Poetry Competition. She is widely published and has released two collections: To Know Bedrock (Pindrop, 2011) and The Art of Egg (Two Ravens, 2015). www.sharonblack.co.uk