He clasps the crag with crooked hands   Deformed from gripping the rock so tight   Close to the sun in lonely lands   But the wax never melts from his wings   Ringed with the azure world he stands   Emperor of the sky, lord of the ocean   The very image of a king      His outstretched feathers overwhelming the sky   And his innate pride to lead   Suggest power, not modesty   But he never kills without consuming   And though he is always watchful of his surroundings   As he skims the surface,   I suspect he doesn’t realize the panic   His shadow induces   In the hearts of the creatures underneath   The overflowing surge of relief   They feel as he revisits   His distinguished position on the cliff   An immense wall of stone   Taking the place of a diamond covered throne   A shining ocean instead of a glittering palace   To signify his status      The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls   Tiptoeing past the sentient, piercing eyes   He watches from his mountain walls   His mind once again boundless in flight   And like a thunderbolt, he falls   Racing heart, never a doubt   Or glance behind         His outstretched feathers overwhelming the sky   And his innate pride to lead   Suggest power, not modesty   But he never kills without consuming   And though he is always watchful of his surroundings   As he skims the surface,   I suspect he doesn’t realize the panic   His shadow induces   In the hearts of the creatures underneath   The overflowing surge of relief   They feel as he revisits   His distinguished position on the cliff   An immense wall of stone   Taking the place of a diamond covered throne   A shining ocean instead of a glittering palace   To signify his status      Guided by instinct, his conscience remains unburdened   Never having to reflect within,   He focuses relentlessly on the outside world   He manifests the answer to the oldest mystery   The meaning of life   Nothing more than just   To live