Birds

i spent one winter out on the aleutian chain, where there were ravens, sea gulls and eagles,
in about equal proportion. my two bits? what a bunch of thugs those eagles!

they were the reason for no more take-out from the mess hall. any pets were seized
and eviscerated on the spot, and the continual squabbling for proper ridge top spacing
was a raucous intrusion that robbed us of peace in our happy home.

one time i was out on a rocky coastal cliff where BIG wind was straight in off the water,
and straight up the cliff. i watched an eagle perched on a pinnacle who had his eye
on something very dear to him that had washed ashore directly beneath.

there was really only one way for him to approach such a bounty and that was
straight down the elevator shaft and eventually he launched for it.

that huge wingspan was designed for lift and power but it could be fashioned
into a deliciously lithe and agile pair of arches. i was close enough to watch
the careful application of every feather spilling the tiny decrements
of a very tenuous and technical descent.

any backsliding his species had suffered in my judgemental way,
was redeemed by that masterful display of flight skill