Harpy

MYthology brought us
The Harpies no wilder
Wind spirits were there
transporters of the dead
Into Hades
With bodies of eagles
And faces aware

Creation the great natural
Phenomenon gave us
A raptor a realization
The great Harpy Eagle
A tangible torment
a wingspan whose talons
Such dramatization
With ebony eyeballs
and a scimitar beak
Handsome and horrific
Somewhat of a freak

Imagine a capuchin
Up in the canopy
Tugging at fruit pods
And chewing away
Only to feel a crescendo of
Agony
And then be borne on the wing
Far away

To a nest in a fork
Of the great sabre tree high
To be quickly dismantled and fed to a chick
Whose squarks sound more like
A kraken in waiting
Not the death really
That any would pick

Its enough to unnerve
You
A bleak kind of ending
Picked clean by a surgeon
With feathers that span
5 feet or more
Torn to pieces in seconds
An unparalleled master
With one central plan

Its chick, and the canopy
Some 40 metres
up off the ground
In the greenery where
A secret world exists
Up in the sunlight
Reaching the clouds almost
Up where the air

Is fresh
All encompassing
All we can see
Is the extent of jungle
Thats stretches now skyward
So much vibrant colour
Tis here the Harpy
Hunts with such vigilance
Verve and veracity
Knowledge is vital
In facts its the key