Through His Eyes

As I sit on my favorite perch, a tree that had been hit by lightening some time ago and broken off about the middle, it was slightly burnt on it's edge and over time I have managed to wear away most of the ash, landing and sloughing my claws off as I fly away creating the perfect home to survey the grasslands from far and wide. As I once again fly over these spectacular lands searching for some Shrews, a Vole or a little mouse, which would be lovely since I can eat two per night as long they aren't too big. I have the darkness on my side with a sliver of moon in the sky, so my sight is spot on! I love to focus on the ground as I fly so as not to miss a meal scampering through the tall grasses...

Aha! with my eyes scanning the brush and tall grasses around my roosting place, I see a small Shrew quickly scurrying the tall grass on the canopy floor to a small clearing. I am quite sure he cannot see me, oh, but he feels me, yes he does...growing more terrified by the minute and hoping he can out run me, he dashes for safety across the clearing and as I begin a rapid decent toward him, he runs as fast as his little legs can take him, his heart nearly beating out of his chest, as i come closer, circling round and round, faster, down, down, closer, I extend my claws and ....GOTCHA! as I grab him, I get him in one claw by his hind quarters and begin to soar back to my home to feast, he is thrashing in my claws, biting my toes trying very hard to make me drop him...ouch! stop that you little bugger! I can feel his heartbeat stopping as we soar through the night sky, and viola! dinner is served.

As my sharp beak punctures the skin and tears the flesh from the bones, swallowing the deliciousness that is the tender meat beneath, the blood flows between my toes and falls to the ground. The larger canine predators begin to emerge looking for where it's coming from. The smells carry across the land on the winds and soon the night is alive, as well as the land, with all the wild life looking for thier meals as well. I can see a coyote stalking a rabbit near by, but he has competition from another close roaming coyote a few hundred feet on the other side of the prey, and I can see that the rabbit is clueless that he is about to become dinner for one of them as he hops along sniffing the air for his vegetarian dinner. Off to the east is a thin and winding road with a single street light that is flashing it's last bit of life as it blinks on and off in a random pattern, a family of raccoons are rumaging through a bag of trash that had been tossed away by a passing vehicle going so fast down the winding road it was merely a blur, all that there was to be found was a few eaten apple cores and some spent sunflower seed shells. There is a small farm a few miles up the road, and I can see lights in the houses windows and I can hear the family having dinner as they chit chat, I hear a burst of laughter here and there and the busy sounds of dishes clanking and silverwear chiming. Suddenly underneath me I hear a squeak! well, well...it would seem the coyotes worked together to get that poor defenseless rabbit. I can smell the fresh blood which stirs my hunger so I decide to swoop down and as I land I fan my wings in such a way as to scare off the competition. Thank you boys for killing my next meal! I begin to pull the tender meat off the carcas and swallow, as one of the coyotes fearlessly comes racing toward me, suddenly I feel a sharp pain on my back as his teeth begin to sink into me...I screech flapping my wings wildly just trying to stop this excrutiating pain! He is viciously snapping and biting at me, as he takes me into his jaws, I can feel his angriness at me stealing his food right from under him, he is becoming more vicious by the second and I have become extremely aware of his anger as he is now trying to end my life and make me his next meal..I flap my large wings as hard as I am able as I peck at his eye, which leaves him no choice, let go or lose an eye! I panic and peck as hard as I can and feel his eye give way under the pressure, my beak penetrates his eye socket and he yelps loudly, as he lets go, I manage to get away flapping my wings hard enough to fly up, up into the air! Whew! that was close! I am shaken up some as the adrenalin make my heart race, but luckily I am no worse for wear and will survive. I get back to my very high up, very safe perch, and I now begin to feel the pain of the attack as my adrenalin rush begins to calm. By this time the coyote has run off to find a place to lick his wounds. I am still a bit shaken, and I can now feel where he punctured my body, the blood begins to drip down my back, as it finds it's trail through the feathers and exits from my foot, dripping onto the tall grass below. I sit atop my favorite view as I feel the life slowly draining from me, the wounds are greater than I knew, and at this point I am merely waiting to die. With each drop of blood that flows from me, I feel myself begin to sway as my heart weakens...my breath slows...I see the ground coming up to meet me and THUMP! As I lay there dying, I can hear coyotes approaching, and the circle of life continues on.