Mighty River Sentinel
“Brother of Air, Brother of Sun,
please tell our story, that we
may live in the brief wind.” – William Stafford
Now midwinter,
you journey southward—
trace the country’s frozen seam
till it splits open with shad, bass, bluegill.
Humbly we stand
beneath your lookout tree and gaze up
at your head and tail of blazing snow,
your noble profile and piercing stare
wild as the tossing river below.
With forward lean you lift broad shoulders
and stretch wings east and west
as one yellow foot grabs air,
then the other. You drop a bit
as if your heft cannot be borne
then ascend gracefully to stir the clouds.
Clutching your catch in craggy claws,
you return to your perch to feed.
O, majestic Eagle,
did our forefathers fall
under this very spell?
By Ellen Savage, Entry # 23
