Loon

Spirit of two worlds:

When the lakes freeze, the ocean

The Great Northern Diver

One of many seabirds

On the margins with the raven

Among the raucous gulls, the ducks, 

Herons, the fishers, scavengers

Gliding in the plane above the waves

Diving into the salty riches

In summer monarch of the ponds

The handsome liveried possessor

The splendid estate, the untidy nest

Precious chicks to teach and bear upon one’s back

Just once I met him under water

Flying powerfully in the chase

Oblivious of the clumsy human

And day and night the haunting call,

The cries of contact and alarm

The wild calling itself

Mourning for the centuries of survival

The thrilling notes across the water

The bubbling spring of resurrection 

The echoes of past ages

The slow pulse of the land

Strong wingbeat of the seasons

The spreading circles of the rippling years

Fading, fading to the edge