What are they thinking you asked
Answering we'll never know
But they are definitely thinking
As they watch us watching them
We go into the nature preserves
Looking to find them to see them
Living off the land that remains
Surrounded by human development
The raccoon walking our way on the trail
Headed towards the picnic table
Knows people often leave something
Easy pickings if you can get it
The red shouldered hawk perched above
Ready to pounce on any unwary rodents
That may search out crumbs underneath
Watches and waits for us to pass
We are here as part of the totality of nature
That makes no distinctions or boundaries
Between what people have constructed
And the environment left untouched
The bald eagle on top of the cell tower
Not much interested in the traffic below
Able to see things we cannot see
Takes what we provide unintentionally
And do we even know what we are thinking
When we experience awareness of them
Grasping onto their world for a moment
Pausing as we watch them watching us
