THE EAGLE by Ann Mortifee
The eagle lighted on his perch
With song both fine and shrill
His eye it held a daggers thrust
That through my flesh did thrill
He swayed his head from east to west
He fixed his eye on me
And I could feel the heavens shake
And fall into the sea
Full wide he stretched his mighty wings
Which spanned both earth and sky
He pierced his beak into the air
He aimed his body high
I climbed upon that feathered perch
Which through the air did swell
And the heartbeat of his hollow bones
Struck like a parting knell
I felt the earth fall far below
The trees did lose their green
The earth became a speckled dot
Lost in and airy scene
Further yet he carried me
Beyond the setting sun
Beyond the farthest lighted star
And further yet and on
The Milky Way had slipped from view
The darkness swept around
All was deathly, silent still
And I felt deathly chill
"Return me to my native perch"
I begged the savage bird
But in his flight he slackened not
And never a word was heard
I shuddered as he heaved us on
The blackness thickened still
I spilled my tears upon his back
For I feared his ghostly will
Then all at once the air was clear
All white and silver blue
And from the place where fear had dwelt
The strangest sweetness grew
A sweetness more than honey bees
Know blossoms in the spring
More sweet than even jasmine scent
Or the splash of mountain streams
A sweetness more than a distant song
When its blown upon a breeze
With pine sap, gold and freshly run
In the joy that loving brings
Now I loved the bird that carried me
I loved his spiraled sweep
I loved the darkness left behind
The waking fitful sleep
I loved the talons of his hand
The cruelness of his beak
And from a place unknown to me
I heard my own voice speak
"Bird of prey, to honor you
I give my heart away
That should the gods desire it
Within my breast to play
Then they may surely enter in
And leave me once they're done
For I have glimpsed your timeless world
In the ancient, vast beyond".
copyright Ann Mortifee 2000
I wrote this in Desolation Sound over 25 yrs ago. I can stand on the shore of the bay I now live in and look across the water to where I made this covenant when I was so much younger. I believe that the eagles who sing to me every morning still remember and hold me accountable for my pledge. This is good and I am glad.......Ann
See the view Ann is talking about by visiting something her neighbours, Irene Blueth and Chai Duncan created:
Walk On The Earth
