Willing to Wait

It’s a cold November morn
When he flies onto the scene
He lands on a broken branch
On our backyard oak tree

I witness from inside the house 
Looking through a glass door
Were I on the outside
He would be there no more

Though hawkeyed, he can’t see me
Giving him a stare
As I sit here on the inside
He sits there unaware

I had not planned to linger here
But as he lingers there
I take time to take in 
This moment that is rare

It’s quiet in the house
I hear nothing but the clock
Time passing away 
With each tick and tock

And yet here in this moment
It’s as if time stands still
As I pause to watch 
This large feathered one with bill

Wings of brown with specks of white 
A red shouldered hawk is he
How wide his wings did spread 
Before he landed on the tree

He stays perched there a long time
His head turning all around
Looking for signs of life
Moving somewhere on the ground

Predator in search of prey 
All part of God’s design
In sustaining life
All with reason and with rhyme

I continue watching
As he waits patiently 
Until what he’s been looking for
Appears beneath the tree

He swoops down and grabs 
Something on the ground
I can’t see what caught his eye 
I don’t know what he’s found

But he snatches it and flies away
Soaring high and free
The moment now is over
What was has ceased to be

So I move on too
But I shall not forget
This cold November morn
When our paths did intersect

And I take away the lesson
This grand bird imparted me
Some things just take time
And we must be still to see

God is working, He will provide
He will not be late 
We just need to trust Him
And be willing to wait

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“Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord.”
    – Psalm 27:14