How we cite our quotes: (Line)
Quote #1
[…] cat nor coyote
Will shorten the week of waiting for death, there is game without talons. (4-5)
The hawk with his busted wing may look like easy game, but the cat and coyote are wise to his sharp defenses. They might have shortened the hawk's wait, otherwise. A dispassionate line like this puts each animal in perspective. You're either a meal or a diner in this great food chain of life.
Quote #2
The curs of the day come and torment him
At distance, […] (10-11)
You'd have to be a cur, a lowdown mongrel, to kick a bird when he's down, but that's just what they do. Still, they know better than to get too close. With his injury the hawk has almost come down to their level. Almost, but not quite.
Quote #3
You do not know him, you communal people, or you have forgotten him;
Intemperate and savage, the hawk remembers him;
Beautiful and wild, the hawks, and men that are dying, remember him. (15-17)
What an insult. You wouldn't think "communal" could be said with so much dripping scorn. It's like the speaker is calling them sheep or lemmings. By losing their individuality, they lose touch with the wild God. Only when they're dying do they regain a memory of that wildness. This is maybe what this whole section of the poem is leading up to, this statement that divine communion usually is only available to people in the moment when they are dying. Unless of course you're a wild individualist like the speaker, himself.