This debut collection is an unflinching and intensely moving evocation of a childhood in rural Ireland. In vivid language, Spaight draws us into a world of parental conflict, poverty, illness, and loss. It is also a world of beauty, love, and courage, with the mother–daughter relationship at its heart. Watching for the Hawk is a marvelous addition to Irish poetry with Spaight giving voice to a changing Ireland through the prism of family.