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Hurt Hawks Suffering Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Line)

Quote #1

The broken pillar of the wing jags from the clotted shoulder,
The wing trails like a banner in defeat, (1-2)

Squeamish Shmoopers might want to look away from these lines. Although couched in poetic words ("broken pillar" and such), this hawk's wound is straight up gnarly. What's a hawk with a wing that destroyed? A goner, is what. His spirit may still be fighting, but the wing signals the ultimate defeat.

Quote #2

No more to use the sky forever but live with famine
And pain a few days […] (3-4)

What a contrast, right? The sky forever or a few days of pain and famine. Life for a hawk is vast, free, and oh so infinite. But injury grounds him, cuts his days down to a few, his experience to famine and pain. These last days are going to stink, big time.

Quote #3

He is strong and pain is worse to the strong, incapacity is worse. (9)

The bigger they are, the harder they fall. You get used to living large, so it's a blow to be so reduced to pain and incapacity.