The Dalliance Of The Eagles

SKIRTING the river road, (my forenoon walk, my rest,)
   Skyward in air a sudden muffled sound, the dalliance of the eagles,
   The rushing amorous contact high in space together,
   The clinching interlocking claws, a living, fierce, gyrating wheel,
   Four beating wings, two beaks, a swirling mass tight grappling,
   In tumbling turning clustering loops, straight downward falling,
   Till o'er the river pois'd, the twain yet one, a moment's lull,
   A motionless still balance in the air, then parting, talons loosing,
   Upward again on slow-firm pinions slanting, their separate diverse
         flight,
   She hers, he his, pursuing.                                        10