The Hawk in a Dovecot

The snow white dove in the morning light The silhouetted hawk against the sky He saw her perched neath the sun so bright On the dovecot in the meadows nearby And his mind was filled with deep desire To go courting with the snow white queen As his love sprang forth like a burning fire For the loveliest bird he’d ever seen So down he dropped to the landing deck On the roof of a dovecot painted blue His beak gently stroked her snow white neck He wondered if one day they could be two -------- The owl said ‘I don’t want to wish you ill Bur she’ll never come to your nest you see’ Birds should not mix with a different quill And a hawk in a dovecot cannot be’ ‘No solace from your wisdom do I find I still intend to take her to my nest For my snow white queen fills up my mind And my heart beats for her in my breast So, dear owl I will now bid you goodbye No thanks for the advice you gave to me For my dear white dove I would gladly die The owl shook his head and said ‘We’ll see’ ------- ‘My dove I want to keep you for my own And I will treat you to the very best I no longer wish to live my life alone So will you come to stay up in my nest?’ ‘A dove can’t live amongst the hawks’ she said So it is you who must come and live with me The words of the owl echoed in his head ‘And a hawk in a dovecot cannot be’ The two were contented, a dream come true The hawk dearly loved his snow white queen But he sometimes gazed at the sky of blue And wished he was on the thermal stream He grew more restless as the days went past He heard the wind whisper through the trees For a hunter’s blood through his veins ran fast As he flapped his wings and smelled the breeze ‘I think that today for hunting I may go’ Said the hawk to his dear little dove She replied ‘stay here, for I need you so And that will convince me of your love’ The dying white dove in the morning light The silhouetted hawk against the sky A blood red stain on her feathers white For the hawk in a dovecot had to fly