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March 8, 2015

A Buzzard

Though fearsome, I was also endeared by the eyes, which spell death on their food sources, yet may never be seen by them. Those eyes had also the earnest attentiveness of a fine student. I thought of the eagle of Saint John on Patmos, symbol of courage and contemplative faith; and of the Psalm — “thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
I spoke once with a falconer, who said his bird could convey a remarkable range of perceptions through his eyes, and an emotion like companionship. Too, he said there is no companionship like two creatures who would kill for each other. But they are not sentimental. It goes deeper than that, and even in the eyes of so fierce a predator, there is also something of the rudiments of love. A buzzard : Essays in Idleness

Posted by gerardvanderleun at March 8, 2015 11:04 AM. This is an entry on the sideblog of American Digest: Check it out.

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