The title quote is from "Shine Perishing Republic" by Robinson Jeffers
For Jeffers the hawk or falcon displayed a stoic realism and represented a serene nobility that he did not find in humanity. And yet, the quote that titles this post refers to life; it is good whether brief or lengthy. In this we see the contradiction that typifies Jeffers' writing. Even as he uplifts the symbol of the hawk, it has a dark side, living by death. And even though there's pain in the early loss of a loved one as a meteor burns bright and is gone, they are "not needed less" than a life that remains far into old age. But I would ask the poet, if human life is merely a fading spark as a "bubble in the molten mass, pops and sighs out, and the mass hardens," then why give it value?
