The Redemptive Eagles

That morning he was low, and

His spirits were low.

He drooped and wobbled, and

He was down, down, down.

Then, in January sunlight

He saw the eagles,  

First the perched one,proud, solid,

Full of confident beauty.

In a tree close by the nest,

Brown and rough,

Was made so as to say—

I come from ancient times, and

I reflect the strength of the strongest.

The sight of the eagles raised him,
Lifted him to the very heights of the January morning

To share the eagles’ vision.

Now he rightly saw river, levee, road, and

Saw the man, lifted in spirit, and

Open to joy. 

--January 23, 2013