Flying High

a hawk spirals up over the
usually dry Santa Cruz
with its receding flood waters
flowing down to the north
the legacy of this weeks
monsoons

fanning its wings and
gliding out over the freshly
moistened hunting grounds
alert to any prey tempted to
venture out to relieve the parch
of another scorching day

the morning sun glints off
the flowing water
twisting and turning through
channels in the otherwise
dry riverbed anywhere from
ten to a hundred feet wide

not too many skinks, lizards
and rodents out today
probably caught sight of
a large dark shadow
spiraling slowly and high
in the early morning sky

–LE – 7/19/24