Eileen Sateriale

Predatory black buzzards
ominously fly
over the still waters
of the Chesapeake Bay.
A rainy autumn morning
has darkened the once
peaceful summer skies.

Old-time watermen
in work boats drop
their crab pots for the
last harvest of the season.
These frightful birds get
the watermen’s attention
with their blood curdling caws.

Crabs that are not fit to be
sold are thrown back
into the silver-gray water
where the buzzards
dive devouring their
blood red carcasses.