Analysis of The Sparrow Hawk, The Keeper And I

Alan S Jeeves 1951 (Lancashire)



As a boy I applauded her magnificent figure;
As a boy I watched her fly, in the sky, so high.
As a boy I admired her almighty vigour;
As a boy I watched her deftly swoop and swirl.
As a boy my intransigent senses she was able to trigger.

She was coloured golden brown as she flew;
She flashed and dazzled in the early morning sunshine.
She commanded the air as she soared straight and true;
Her eyes could see far - much farther than those of you or I.
Below nothing could obscure her view of the ground, bathed in dew.

She adorned the sky as the night-time darkness was done;
She was so beautiful against the backdrop of the heavens.
She was seen at a time when blackness was on the run;
She, alone, ruled the universe ~ that is, but for one ~
Beneath her prowled the keeper in his spats and breeches ~ and his gun.  

Morning came to me easily, I ardently welcomed her here;
How could I not be in awe of this special time?
Now I could join the sparrowhawk, see her dive and veer.
She paid no heed to me ~ why should she? ~ I was her friend, you see!
She called out her 'Good morning' to me as I lent her my ear.

She flew in the peaceful stillness of the cool, clean air;
Silent, the world was silent all about us.
Then my exalted solitude was dashed , standing there;
A violent crack, a puff of smoke..... and she was gone,
I frantically searched the sky but she was nowhere.

As a man I recall my sparrowhawk, anamnesis she still dictates
(She even tumbled lifeless to the ground with dignity and grace).
As a man I may, myself, in time arrive at heaven's golden gates;
She knows that I will come and not betray her...
But she is ever patient and has faith ~ she awaits.


Scheme ABAXA CXCBC DXDDD EXXXE FXFXF GXGAG
Poetic Form
Metre 10110100010010 101110100111 101101000101 10111010101 10110100101110110 1110101111 110100010101 101001111101 01111110111111 011010101101101 1010110111011 11110001011010 1111011101101 101101011111 010101001101011 1011110011001001 111110111101 11110110101 111111111110111 111011011111011 1100101010111 10011101011 110101011101 0100101110111 110001011111 101111111101 1101010101110001 1011110101110101 11111101010 1111010011101
Closest metre Iambic heptameter
Characters 1,642
Words 326
Sentences 19
Stanzas 6
Stanza Lengths 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5
Lines Amount 30
Letters per line (avg) 43
Words per line (avg) 11
Letters per stanza (avg) 213
Words per stanza (avg) 55

About this poem

A true story of a boy and his friend a Sparrow Hawk. Taken from the prose poetry piece 'The Widecombe Fair Chestnut Mare - Trilogy' for storystar.com (2007)

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Submitted by AlanSJeeves on July 18, 2021

Modified on April 27, 2023

1:38 min read
13

Alan S Jeeves

Alan S Jeeves is a Lancashire (England) born, Yorkshire based classical poet. more…

All Alan S Jeeves poems | Alan S Jeeves Books

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