Tuesday, April 20, 2021

Majestic parenting

Tuesdays at Two Writing Teachers!

a dark blob

stunningly huge against the thin branches

constructed carefully,

even lovingly?


a dark shape on top

perching, nodding, surveying its territory,

leaning towards

a much smaller lump


a great wing flaps

then unfolds, reaches, stretches majestically

hooked beak forward,

sharp talons hanging,


it SOARS!


"Look, look! It's flying!"


outstretched wings

seem to scrape the cerulean sky, but

the regal silhouette 

leaves no mark


with eyes and mouths open wide

we gaze upwards in awe


watchful mom or dad:

soaring circles never stray too far,

then glide gracefully

to a nearby branch


giving a little space

but staying just close enough:

that's love

I grew up seeing bald eagles at our local zoo and learning how endangered they were. I never dreamed that I'd be able to take my daughters to see real wild bald eagles at their nest at all, let alone that the nest would be right across the street from their school! (The nest is the huge blob in the tree above my older daughter, and one of the parent eagles is the smaller blob in the tree above my younger daughter.)

One eagle has always been sitting in the nest (with at least one baby) whenever we've visited, but yesterday it was a treat when the parent suddenly took off and delighted us by circling right above us for several minutes before landing in a nearby tree! We also got to see both parents as they switched shifts, with one flying away to hunt while the other one stayed near the nest!

4 comments:

  1. What a grand discovery you made with the girls!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This is beautiful!! You've made bald eagle viewing so majestic of an experience. What a joy to share with your daughters.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Jennifer, what a wonderful piece about a fantastic subject! It's fantastic to have the ability to watch eagles right across the street, possibly for years to come.

    I really like how your poem describes not only the eagles, but your collective reaction to them. I work with birds of prey as a volunteer, and I love seeing people's reactions to them as they get close for the first time (it's not unlike my own reaction every time I see them).

    Thank you for sharing this!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How lucky are you?! What a sight! Those eagles are majestic.

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me happy and I'd love to hear from YOU! :-)